Cape Town - Authorities and rescue personnel are working on extricating trapped people from the underneath the wreckage of a long distance bus that crashed outside Beaufort West in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Ten people have been confirmed dead and around thirty other people were injured. Among the fatalities were six females, three males and one child believed to be a 2-month-old baby boy.
“According to the information we receive the driver lost control of the bus, we understand that the commuters were travelling from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape. We not sure where in the Eastern Cape exactly,” Provincial Traffic Chief Department of Transport and Public Works, Kenny Africa, said.
Naledi Coach Service, a long distance bus service that operates from Philippi, owns the bus which was carrying sixty passengers. The owner of the company is reportedly on his way to the scene of the crash. He said that there were two bus drivers aboard and that neither had sustained injuries.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said: “Police are currently investigating a case of culpable homicide. We can confirm that the death toll is sitting at 10 people and 30 people have been injured.”
Traffic on the road has been brought to a virtual standstill by the crash and the ensuing rescue operation. There is a stop-and-go system in place to ensure that motorists navigate the delays smoothly.