CAPE TOWN, March 30– The South African parliament issued a statement here Friday, sending its “deepest condolences” to the families of victims in a bus crash that claimed 45 lives in the country’s northeastern province of Limpopo. According to the statement, the bus was reportedly en route to Moria, a town in Limpopo, when it crashed Thursday, killing 45 people. One child survived. The pilgrims were traveling from Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, to attend an Easter service in Limpopo. The statement quoted the chairperson of the parliament’s transport committee Mina Lesoma as saying that “this is a bleak Easter not only for religious South Africans but the entire region.” Easter Sunday falls on March 31 this year. “It is not an ideal situation to be communicating about road fatalities when we should be happy and in a celebratory mood,” said Lesoma.
The parliament’s transport committee called for caution and responsible driving on South Africa’s roads, adding that “people transporting traveling groups, church people, private family campings, and sporting clubs should be vigilant all the time.” In the statement, Lesoma also urged authorities to expedite the necessary inter-governmental processes to repatriate the deceased and return their remains to their families. “The urgent task now is that families should be assisted, particularly on issues of state protocol,” she stressed. According to an earlier report by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Interpol in South Africa has confirmed that all passengers who died in the Limpopo bus accident and one surviving minor are all Botswana citizens.
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