Sol Plaatje Dam bus crash
Details
Date1 May 2003
LocationSol Plaatje Dam
Coordinates28°13′06″S 28°21′47″E / 28.21833°S 28.36306°E / -28.21833; 28.36306
CountrySouth Africa
Statistics
Deaths51

The Sol Plaatje Dam bus crash was one of the worst vehicle accidents of all time, when a coach bus drove into the Saulspoort Dam near the town of Bethlehem, South Africa, killing 51 people on 1 May 2003.

Overview

The bus was transporting trade union delegates to May Day celebrations in the town of QwaQwa in the Free State. The driver of the bus became disoriented when they passed through Bethlehem in the dark, en route to the celebrations.[1] Hopelessly lost, he appears to have turned accidentally onto an unlit gravel path, which led straight onto a jetty into the Saulspoort Dam. The driver was apparently traveling much too fast to stop when the bus drove straight into the water.

The remote location of the accident, combined with the old bus's inadequate safety provisions meant that just ten people escaped the vehicle alive, all of them injured in the crash. The bus sank rapidly following impact with the water, trapping the passengers underwater inside the vehicle.[2] Police did not arrive until the following morning after being notified by survivors, but were only able to recover the bodies of the dead and retrieve the bus as part of their investigation of the tragedy.

Aftermath

President Thabo Mbeki held a minute's silence for the dead at his May Day speech the following day, and the dead were buried together in a mass funeral at West End (Weseinde) cemetery in Kimberley. The cause of the crash was believed to be negligence on the driver's part, in his failure to prepare a route through a hazardous area, which was compounded by a lack of signs and gates on the dam's access roads. The bus too was an old model, and did not possess efficient emergency exits or safety equipment, as well as suffering from poor brakes, which may have contributed to the disaster.

The dam was renamed the Sol Plaatje Dam on 1 April 2005.[3]

Sol Plaatje Dam, Bethlehem, South Africa

Leonard Slabbert, who used a boat to rescue the survivors, was awarded the Mendi Decoration for Bravery (since renamed Order of Mendi for Bravery) (Silver) on 30 November 2003.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dozens killed in South African bus crash". The Guardian. 1 May 2003.
  2. ↑ "80 feared dead in SA bus accident". Daily News. Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Drama at bus-tragedy service". News24. 5 May 2003.
  4. ↑ Ndaba, Baldwin (2 December 2003). "Honours at last for unsung heroes". Sapa. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
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