Johannesburg - The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in Gauteng on Friday said it had noted with great sadness the school bridge collapse incident at Hoërskool Driehoek, in Vanderbijlpark, which resulted in three deaths and injuring more than 20.
"The IFP would like to express its sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased while also wishing [a] speedy recovery to the injured learners," said IFP Provincial Chairperson, Bonginkosi Dhlamini.
"We are extremely concerned by what could have led to this structural collapse. Thus we urge with the [member of the executive council] MEC to work with the management of the school in launching a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of what led to this terrible tragedy. It is regrettable that the lives of learners have been jeopardised in this manner."
He said that they were hoping that the sad and untimely death of these learners and the bruising injuries sustained by many other learners during this incident would serve as an urgent call for the department to implement binding laws which insist that every school consistently inspect the quality of its infrastructure and take steps to remedy it timeously.
"We cannot have a situation where our schools become danger zones," said Dlamini.