Sol Plaatje Dam bus crash
| Sol Plaatje Dam bus crash | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Date | 1 May 2003 |
| Location | Sol Plaatje Dam |
| Coordinates | 28°13′06″S 28°21′47″E / 28.21833°S 28.36306°E |
| Country | South Africa |
| Statistics | |
| Deaths | 51 |
The Sol Plaatje Dam bus crash was a bus crash that happened on 1 May 2003 in South Africa.[1] a bus drove into the Saulspoort Dam near the town of Bethlehem, South Africa, 51 people were killed.
Overview
[change | change source]The bus was taking trade union delegates to May Day celebrations in QwaQwa in the Free State. The bus was going through Bethlehem in the dark and driver became disoriented .[2] the driver went on an unlit gravel path, which led straight onto a jetty into the Saulspoort Dam. The bus was traveling too fast to stop and it drove straight into the water.
Because of the remote location of the accident and the poor safety standards on the bus, only ten people escaped the bus alive. The bus sank quickly, the passengers were stuck underwater inside the bus.[3] Police did not come until the next morning after being told by survivors, The police recovered the bodies of the dead people and they pulled the bus out of the dam.
Aftermath
[change | change source]President Thabo Mbeki held a minute's silence for the dead at his May Day speech the next day, and the dead were buried together in a mass funeral at West End (Weseinde) cemetery in Kimberley.
On 1 April 2005, the dam was renamed to the Sol Plaatje Dam.[4]
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On 30 November 2003, Leonard Slabbert, who used a boat to rescue the survivors, was awarded the Mendi Decoration for Bravery.[5]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Dozens killed in South African bus crash". The Guardian. 2003-05-01. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ↑ "Dozens killed in South African bus crash". The Guardian. 1 May 2003.
- ↑ "80 feared dead in SA bus accident". Daily News. Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ↑ "Drama at bus-tragedy service". News24. 5 May 2003.
- ↑ Ndaba, Baldwin (2 December 2003). "Honours at last for unsung heroes". Sapa. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
