The horrific events from Centane, Eastern Cape play out like a nightmare. A bus plunged down the side of a large hill on Monday morning, and the 200-metre fall continues to take lives. Rescue operations have continued throughout the afternoon, but sadly, the death toll has now risen to 25.
Revealed in an official statement from Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, an additional four people have been confirmed dead since helicopter assistance was called to the scene. Most of the victims were pensioners, who were all travelling between Butterworth and Chebe.
21 killed in the bus crush in Centane 😭 pic.twitter.com/QJrMQUeJD9
— ARTHUR (@mbombela2) March 2, 2020
In CENTANE: 25 killed, 61 injured in horror Eastern Cape bus crash
A total of 25 people were killed and 61 injured in a bus accident in the Eastern Cape on Monday,
The bus was travelling on a gravel road near the Tafalofefe Hospital on Monday morning around 08:00 pic.twitter.com/vTOXrHMsHC— Jittie^_^Zettie♬ (@Jittie_Zettie) March 2, 2020
Centane bus crash: Death toll and latest news
A three-year-old child was also on board the doomed bus, but we understand the infant has been successfully lifted to hospital, where they remain in a critical condition. Addressing the media, Mbalula confirmed he would be visiting Cetane later this week, revealing that many of the deceased had just drawn their social grants.
“To lose so many people who were on their way back from a social grant pay-point adds more pain as this possibly means they were household breadwinners. Traffic, police, health officials have been on the scene. I send my sincere condolences to the families.”
“We remain committed to strengthining our measures to ensure the safety of our people on the road. This includes public reviews to assess the fitness of vehicles and their drivers. We will esnure that our roads – including gravel roads – are well-maintained are can be safe to drive on.”
Fikile Mbalula
CENTANE BUS ACCIDENT
To lose so many people who were on their way back from a social grant pay-point adds more pain as this possibly means they were household breadwinners. Traffic, police, health officials have been on the scene.
I send my sincere condolences to the families.
— Minister of Transport |Mr Fix (@MbalulaFikile) March 2, 2020
The information about the accident is still developing and relevant provincial government and departments will share the information as it comes.
— Minister of Transport |Mr Fix (@MbalulaFikile) March 2, 2020
Eastern Cape bus crash – Fikile Mbalula responds
The minister also briefly touched on the state of gravel roads in South Africa. The site where the Cetane bus crash took place was just off of one of these poorly-maintained stretches along the route. Although Mbalula vowed to maintain and fix these roads, social media users had other ideas about a way forward.
The state of the roads in Transkei is disastrous. Gatyana also recently killed many people in a similar bus accident, the road to Eliodale is a nightmare, R61 from Port Edward via Bizana to Phakade is horrible, the road from Magusheni to PSJ is riddled with sinkholes. https://t.co/X3LapneSv8
— Simcelile Rubela (@SimcelileRubela) March 2, 2020
#sapsEC A case of culpable homicide is under investigation by Centane SAPS following the tragic bus accident which claimed the lives of 25 passengers and left 75 injured this morning at Gwelane Locality, Zingcuka Village. MLhttps://t.co/RNmiMTzKPS pic.twitter.com/e0O661B3rd
— SA Police Service (@SAPoliceService) March 2, 2020