Zimpapers Logo

The wreackage of the Ford double cab which collided with a haulage truck in South Africa yesterday

Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
FOURTEEN Zimbabweans, including an eight-month-old toddler, are feared dead after a vehicle they were travelling in was involved in a head-on collision with a haulage truck yesterday near Mokopane town in South Africa’s Limpopo Province.

South African police said 15 people, including a Malawian national, were killed in the accident that occurred at around 3AM.

Fourteen died on the spot and one died in hospital.

Police said all those who perished, including the Malawian national, were in a Ford double cab travelling towards Pretoria with 16 people while the truck was going in the opposite direction.

The road the driver was using, R101 highway, is normally used by Zimbabwean cross-border transporters, popularly known as omalayitsha, who claim it has less police and Home Affairs checkpoints as opposed to the N1.

Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Ronel Otto said so far they had recovered three Zimbabwean and one Malawian passports from the scene adding that the identification process was ongoing.

She said they were charging the truck driver with culpable homicide.

“The incident occurred between Mokopane and Naboomspruit. The driver of the truck sustained minor injuries while two other people from the small vehicle survived and were taken to Mokopane hospital,” she said.

“The identities of the deceased are not known yet though we believe the majority could be Zimbabweans.”

She also called on motorists to rest during long journeys especially when travelling at night and to ensure that their vehicles were roadworthy.

Zimbabwe’s Consul General to South Africa, Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro, said they were working with that country’s authorities on the identification of the victims.

He said they were also in touch with officials administering the Road Accident Fund (RAF) in Limpopo province for them to help with the repatriations of the bodies to Zimbabwe for burial.

“We want to emphasise that those who die in South African road accidents will be assisted through the RAF which also approves funeral parlours to repatriate the remains of the deceased,” said Mukonoweshuro.

“Given that a number of the victims might not have been carrying identification documents on them, it is encouraged that those with relatives and friends who travelled recently confirm whether they arrived at their destinations.”