Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and City of Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza have revealed that the city and the province are considering establishing a formal inquiry into the bus crash that claimed 13 lives, resulting in 77 passengers being treated for injuries at various Healthcare facilities across the city.

Lesufi and Xhakaza, as well as Ekurhuleni MMC for Transport Andile Mgwevu, and MEC for Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela addressed the media at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday.

"We can't have 13 people dying and nothing happens. We are still consulting on what kind of investigation we need to have. We are indeed sad that this is the third incident of this nature this week alone.

"On Monday, we had an incident where a car involving a traffic officer in this region crashed into a car that was transporting school children, where unfortunately four kids died on the scene. Yesterday was the R21 bus crash, and earlier this morning, we also had another bus carrying children to school, where fortunately, there were no casualties," said Lesufi.

The accident occurred on Tuesday morning after a municipal bus carrying at least 89 passengers overturned on the R21 Northbound after a light motor vehicle applied brakes to avoid missing an offramp, causing the bus driver to swerve and lose control.

Xhakaza also indicated that the bus was roadworthy, while the driver was fully compliant and accredited to ferry passengers. It was further reported that the driver had been discharged from the hospital, where he was being treated.

Xhakaza said the driver will, in due time, give his version of the incident as soon as the authorities give a go-ahead.

He further stated that of the 13 dead passengers, one died while receiving medical care at Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg.

"We can confirm that there are 13 people who died following the bus crash on Tuesday. Of the 13, 12 died on the scene, and one passenger died at Tambo Memorial Hospital. Our preliminary report also confirms that we have 45 injured passengers after 77 patients were transported to various healthcare facilities. It is important that we emphasise this part because there were those who are critically injured as well as those who are serious and those with minor injuries," he said.

According to Mgwevu, the city has stringent measures of monitoring their fleet as well as the capacity of their drivers.

“Our driver, we can confirm, held a professional driving permit (PDP) and was licensed to operate that particular vehicle. If we pick up any elements that our buses are not proper, we stop them from going out as we do not compromise on the safety and the conditions of our buses," he said.

Meanwhile, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), which initially reported 16 fatalities, revised its figures to 13 after further verification.

The corporation further confirmed that investigators are working to identify the other vehicle involved in the crash, adding that their investigation is also analysing footage from SANRAL CCTV cameras to be included in the final incident report.

Furthermore, the police are also investigating a case of culpable homicide, which will be added to the docket for the South African Police Service and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Following this briefing, Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko visited the injured in various hospitals in Ekurhuleni, while Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane visited families of pupils involved in the Monday crash.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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Third tragic crash prompts Gauteng officials to consider formal inquiry into bus disaster