Durban – Two families of the Ntuzuma taxi crash that killed four pupils on Wednesday were only told on Thursday that their children were among the dead.
They spent 12 agonising hours on Wednesday night waiting as authorities went through the process of identifying the victims.
Some of the families said they found out late on Wednesday about the crash and the only information they had was that their children did not report to school.
Some heard through friends that their children might have boarded the taxi that collided with a municipal bus on Ingcebo Road near the Ntuzuma bus depot.
For these families, the search began at the local police station where they did not get the assistance they had hoped for.
They still expected to find their children alive, so their next search was at the local clinics and hospitals, but to no avail.
At the Phoenix mortuary, they were apparently told they needed to be escorted by the investigating officer to identify the bodies.
Depressed and traumatised, they decided to call off the search and went home.
Sixteen-year-old Sibusiso Sibiya, a Grade 11 Sibonelo High School pupil, was among the four children who died in the crash.
His father, Bongani Phoswa, said going to bed not knowing whether his son was dead or alive was a “terrible nightmare”.
“I searched for him everywhere. I was praying for a miracle. I wanted to find him alive. But as my search went on unsuccessfully until 2am, my worst nightmare was slowly becoming a reality,” he said.
The father only received confirmation of his son’s death at noon on Thursday when he returned to the mortuary with the police.
“My son had terrible head injuries. He must have suffered a very painful death,” said the distraught father.
Phoswa said Sibusiso had been his last hope, as an older son had died in 2010.
“I raised him from nothing. I worked in people’s gardens so that he could have a bright future. He wanted to become an electrical engineer and his dream was to lift us from poverty.”
The family of 16-year-old Ntobeko Ngidi, a pupil at Sivananda High School in KwaMashu, said they also had a difficult time finding out whether their son was dead or alive.
Ntobeko’s aunt, Nonhlanhla Ngema said after hearing news about the accident, they tried reaching him on his cellphone, but it went straight to voicemail.
“When his friend and cousin returned from school, they told us that he had boarded the same minibus taxi that was all over the news.”
“Spending a night not knowing whether he was dead or alive was even more traumatic for the family,” said the devastated aunt.
Ngema said his nephew was a God-fearing child who loved school and his mother.
The third victim, 16-year-old Thabisile Mjwara, from Sibonelo High School, was identified on Thursday.
The identity of the fourth victim had not been established at the time of publication.
Sivananda High School headmaster Jabulani Maphanga was with the families on Thursday as they tried to identify the bodies.
He said pupils at the school were traumatised.
“Although teaching and learning had to get under way, most pupils were still traumatised. We will wait for the Department of Education to organise counselling for the affected pupils,” said Maphanga.