By Johannah Malogadihlare
President Cyrill Ramaphosa has expressed his sadness over the death of 16 people who were involved in a bus collision on the R21 near OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday.
The number of deaths increased from 12 earlier in the day, and 45 people have been injured.
Ramophosa has offered his deepest condolences to the affected families and wished the survivors a speedy recovery.
“While the causes of these recent incidents are still under investigation, we are reminded that tragedies such as these leave more than physical scars, as they cause trauma that affects family relationships and the lives of survivors,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
In another incident, at least nine bus passengers lost their lives while 39 were injured in KwaZulu-Natal last week.
“Incidents such as these impact on people’s ability to earn a living, they impact our health and emergency services, they drive up insurance and result in expensive vehicle repairs, and they affect business who lose personnel in this process,” Ramaphosa said.
The president urged drivers to ensure that vehicles were roadworthy and that they obeyed road safety rules.
“Where drivers ignore these rules, they stand a chance of losing their lives or being critically injured. And where they survive, they will end up in our courts and correctional centres,” Ramaphosa warned.
On Tuesday, a bus lost control and flipped on the highway. Some of the passengers were thrown from the vehicle. Four died in hospital.
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