By Bronwynne Jooste
The death toll in the Piketberg bus crash has climbed to 10, and the driver has been detained in connection with possible charges of culpable homicide and drunken driving.
Eight people, both men and women, died at the scene when the bus rolled down a steep embankment on the Versveld Pass near Piketberg on Friday evening. Two passengers died later, one en route to Paarl hospital and the other in Groote Schuur hospital, said police.
The bus was transporting 42 seasonal farm workers home from Elands Bay to Ceres.
The injured were airlifted to the Radie Kotze hospital in Piketberg, said the hospital's sister in charge, Sophia Phillips.
"We still have five men here with minor injuries. Those who were more seriously injured were transferred to the Groote Schuur, Tygerberg and Paarl hospitals."
The senior medical superintendent at Paarl hospital, Dr Breslau Kruger, said nine patients had come to the hospital, of whom one had been dead on arrival.
"One patient has acute abdominal injuries and he will have to go to theatre. The rest have fractures to the legs, arms, neck and pelvis," said Kruger.
Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Billy Jones confirmed that the bus driver had been "taken in".
"We have taken a blood sample and if the driver is found to have been under the influence, and is implicated, we will follow with charges."
Western Cape agriculture department spokesman Allie van Jaarsveld said the safety of farm workers remained an "ongoing concern".
"The well-being of the farm workers is an issue, especially in light of the train and truck accident in Faure last year when several farm workers were also killed. The Western Cape government and the provincial department of agriculture will look into the conditions under which the workers are being transported."
He maintained that the responsibility regarding safety ultimately rested with the driver.
"The workers are being transported by a private contractor. It is very important that the people transporting the farm workers are adhering to the law."
Fatima Shabodien, director of the Women on Farms Project, said the accident merely highlighted the plight of farm workers once again.
"The Women on Farms Project expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the farm workers involved in the tragic bus accident.
"When a similar accident occurred in Faure involving farm workers in November 2006, we were attacked for being insensitive when we pointed out that the loss of life was unnecessary and could have been prevented if we had a more secure farm labour system in place."
She said the incident highlighted a number of burning issues.
"Why were workers being transported from Ceres to work near Piketberg when there are so many poor and unemployed workers in Piketberg? How is it possible that it could be economically viable to transport workers over such great distances?
"We believe that these artificially created systems of migrant labour are a mechanism developed by farmers in eschewing their legal obligations with respect to farm worker labour and tenure laws.
"The loss of lives is unnecessary and unacceptable. We call for an urgent joint commission of inquiry into contract and migrant labour in the agricultural sector."
Cosatu also called for a further investigation. "Cosatu demands a full investigation into the cause of this incident and the prosecution of anyone found to have been responsible.
"We also demand that steps be taken to inspect the roadworthiness of all vehicles used to transport workers," the union said in a statement.