20 pupils injured in a minibus taxi accident in KZN

Mapaballo Borotho

Twenty pupils were injured when a minibus taxi veered off KwaKgetha Bridge in KZN.
The driver has disappeared from the scene, and police are searching for him.
This marks the third school learner transport accident in the Umgungundlovu District within four days.

Twenty pupils have been seriously injured in a minibus taxi accident in KwaZulu-Natal in the early hours of Monday morning.

The minibus taxi veered off the road and plunged a few meters down the KwaKgetha Bridge.

MEC of Transport and Human Settlements in the province, Siboniso Duma, says they are not yet sure whether the driver disappeared or fled the scene. Law enforcement agencies are currently searching for him.

“The learners are from Matomela High School, Luthando High School, and Sthunjwana Primary School. They have been taken to Gomane Clinic and Harry Gwala Regional Hospital (Edendale Hospital).

Unfortunately, this is the third accident involving school learner transport in the Umgungundlovu District within four days. Four learners died on Thursday, while others remain in the hospital”.

Duma called on SANTACO in KZN to address this issue, noting that most of these accidents involve members of the taxi association.

“The Automobile Association estimates 70,000 minibus taxi crashes annually, with taxis experiencing double the crash rate of other passenger vehicles,” Duma added.