Tragic Minibus Accident Claims Twelve Schoolchildren in South Africa

Wednesday saw the sad deaths of twelve pupils and their driver in South Africa after their minibus collapsed and caught fire on a Gauteng provincial road. Day after schools started following the winter holidays, the disaster occurred in the town of Merafong, west of Johannesburg.

Seven more youngsters were also hurt in the terrible incident. According to reports, the minibus carrying the youngsters crashed against the rear of a small truck—often known as a bakkie. The force made the minibus flip and catch fire.

Together with Panyaza Lesufi, the head of the Gauteng provincial government, education and transportation officials visited the scene of the accident and the injured children at a nearby hospital in Carletonville. Eleven of the dead children attended Rocklands Primary School, according to Steve Mabona, spokesman for the Gauteng education department; the twelfth youngster was a student at Laerskool Blyvooruitsig in Carletonville.

Mabona described the disaster as a “horrific accident,” saying, “the pupils’ transport was hit from behind by a bakkie, causing it to overturn and subsequently catch fire.”

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The incident emphasizes how thousands of Gauteng kids depend on private minibuses for their daily travel to and from their classrooms. Across the most populated province in South Africa, many other students rely on public transportation like municipal buses and taxis.

The disaster has clouded the society and spurred demands for better safety precautions for school transportation vehicles in order to stop such catastrophic events in the future.