BLOEMFONTEIN – The repatriation process is underway for the 11 Zimbabwean nationals who died when a 78-passenger bus veered and overturned on the N1 highway approximately 24 km north of Trompsburg on Thursday 30 July.

This followed the identification of the victims by families and next of kin at the Free State government mortuary in Bloemfontein after autopsies were completed. The private bus was travelling from Cape Town to Zimbabwe when the fatal accident occurred during the night.

The remains of the victims were removed from the mortuary in Bloemfontein this morning – Thursday 7 August. Zimbabwe’s Consul-General in Johannesburg, Eria Phiri, said the Free State government under Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae played a crucial role in responding to the horrific incident. He said all affected people originate from Harare.

“We thank the government of South Africa, including the Free State and all intergovernmental agencies, for responding promptly to the accident itself. All agencies managed to assist our nationals. We received assistance from the premier to ensure all the processes are completed as quickly as possible,” he said.

Currently, 10 patients are still at the Universitas Academic Hospital and Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital. “We wish those hospitalised a speedy recovery,” said Phiri.

Dr Thulani Nkosi, clinical manager and forensic pathology services, said post-mortems were conducted successfully, amid difficulty recognising the deceased. He said some experts travelled from Johannesburg to assist with the incident from the accident scene.

“Many of them died because of blunt force that impacted on their faces; these included two children who could not be recognised,” Dr Nkosi explained.

Dr Nkosi said pre-trauma counselling was offered to families of the deceased, adding that personnel that worked on autopsies would be recommended for counselling too, given the nature of the accident.

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