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Sol Plaatje Dam Bus Crash
On 1 May 2003, a coach bus drove into the Sol Plaatje Dam, Saulspoort Dam near the town of Bethlehem, Free State, Bethlehem, South Africa, killing 51 people. Overview The bus was transporting trade union delegates to May Day celebrations in the town of QwaQwa in the Free State (South African province), Free State. The bus driver became disoriented when they passed through Bethlehem in the dark en route to the celebrations. Hopelessly lost, he appears to have turned accidentally onto an unlit gravel path, which led straight onto a jetty into the Sol Plaatje Dam, Saulspoort Dam. The driver was traveling much too fast to stop when the bus drove straight into the water. Because of the remote location of the accident and the old bus's inadequate safety provisions, 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. Police did not arrive until the foll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sol Plaatje Dam
Sol Plaatje Dam (or Saulspoort Dam) is an earth-fill type dam located at the confluence of the As River, As and Liebenbergsvlei Rivers near Bethlehem, Free State (South African province), Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1968 and serves mainly for municipal and domestic water supply. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high. The reservoir receives water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project via the As River. Originally known as Saulspoort Dam, it was officially renamed on 1 April 2005, recalling the Sol Plaatje Dam bus crash, bus disaster which took place there in the early hours of 1 May 2003, when 51 passengers, en route to a Workers Day rally, were drowned. 41 of the workers were employees of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, Sol Plaatje Municipality (Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bethlehem, Free State
Bethlehem is a town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river (also called Liebenbergs Vlei) along a fertile valley just north of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is the fastest growing town in the Free state province, with its target of being the third largest city after Bloemfontein and Welkom. It is a wheat growing area and named after the biblical Bethlehem, from he, בֵּית לֶחֶם ("Beit Lechem"), meaning "house of bread". The town lies at an altitude of and this contributes to its cool climate with frosty winters and mild summers. The average annual temperature is around . Bethlehem is situated approximately north-east of Bloemfontein, east of Kroonstad and west of Harrismith. The town is strategically situated in the heart of the picturesque north-eastern Free State and originally developed as a service centre. Bethlehem is the seat of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality (this municipality is situate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen (sometimes with a male companion), and setting up a Maypole, May Tree or May Bush, around which people dance. Bonfires are also part of the festival in some regions. Regional varieties and related traditions include Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, the Gaelic festival Beltane, the Welsh festival Calan Mai, and May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has also been associated with the ancient Roman festival Floralia. In 1889, 1 May was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the Second International, to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago and the struggle for an eight-hour working day. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
QwaQwa
QwaQwa was a bantustan ("homeland") in the central eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Phuthaditjhaba. It was the designated homeland of more than 180,000 Sesotho-speaking Basotho people. The frequent snow on the Drakensberg mountain peaks led the San to call the region "Qwa-Qwa" (whiter than white). In Afrikaans it was known as "Witsieshoek", after Oetse (also Witsie and Wetsi), a Makholokoe chief who lived there from 1839 to 1856. Three tribes lived in the region, the Makholokoe, Bakoena and the Batlokoa. In 1969Flags of the world Discussion of name and history. Retrieved 10 April 2006. they were united and the area was named "KwaKwa". In the same year, the name was changed to "QwaQwa" to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free State (South African Province)
The Free State, known as Orange Free State until the 28th of June 1995 when its name was changed, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later Orange Free State Province. History The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans were abolished and reincorporated into South Africa. It is also the only one of the four original provinces of South Africa not to undergo border changes, apart from the reincorporation of Bantustans, and its borders date from before the outbreak of the Boer War. Law and government The provincial government consists of a premier, an executive council of ten ministers, and a legislature. The provincial assembly and premier are elected for five-year terms, or until the next national election. Political parties are awarded assembly seats based on the percentage of votes each party receive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC). Before that, he was deputy president under Nelson Mandela between 1994 and 1999. The son of Govan Mbeki, a renowned ANC intellectual, Mbeki has been involved in ANC politics since 1956, when he joined the ANC Youth League, and has been a member of the party's National Executive Committee since 1975. Born in the Transkei, he left South Africa aged twenty to attend university in England, and spent almost three decades in exile abroad, until the ANC was unbanned in 1990. He rose through the organisation in its information and publicity section and as Oliver Tambo's protégé, but he was also an experienced diplomat, serving as the ANC's official representative in several of its African outposts. He was an early advocate for and leader o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due to its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Anglo-Boer war. British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley, and Rhodes established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town. On 2 September 1882, Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States to integrate electric street lights into its infrastructure. The first stock exchange in Africa was built in Kimberley, as early as 1881. History Discovery of diamonds In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange River, on the farm ''De Kalk'' leased from local Griquas, near Hopetown, which was h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sol Plaatjies Dam, Bethlehem, South Africa (2)
Sol or SOL may refer to: Astronomy * The Sun Currency * SOL Project, a currency project in France * French sol, or sou * Argentine sol * Bolivian sol, the currency of Bolivia from 1827 to 1864 * Peruvian sol, introduced in 1991 * Peruvian sol (1863–1985) *Solana (blockchain platform) (SOL), a cryptocurrency Entertainment, arts and media Music * G (musical note) or sol, a note of the solfege music scale * G major or sol, a musical key * Sol (band), a Canadian indie rock band active in the 1990s * ''Sol'' (album), an album by electronic musician Eskmo * ''Sol'', an album by Ougenweide * ''Shit Out of Luck'', a 1996 album by The Lillingtons Gaming * ''SOL'', or '' The Shadows of Luclin'', an expansion to ''Everquest'' computer game * Sol Badguy, a character in the ''Guilty Gear'' video games * ''Sol Squadron'', an enemy squadron in the video game Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Newspapers * ''Sol'' (newspaper), a weekly newspaper published in Portugal * ''soL'' (newspa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Slabbert
Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' Leo,'' and the suffix ''hardu'' ("brave" or "hardy"). The name has come to mean "lion strength", "lion-strong", or "lion-hearted". Leonard was the name of a Saint in the Middle Ages period, known as the patron saint of prisoners. Leonard is also an Irish origin surname, from the Gaelic ''O'Leannain'' also found as O'Leonard, but often was anglicised to just Leonard, consisting of the prefix ''O'' ("descendant of") and the suffix ''Leannan'' ("lover"). The oldest public records of the surname appear in 1272 in Huntingdonshire, England, and in 1479 in Ulm, Germany. Variations The name has variants in other languages: * Leen, Leendert, Lenard (Dutch) * Lehnertz, Lehnert (Luxembourgish) * Len (English) * :hu:Lénárd (Hungarian) * Lenar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of Mendi For Bravery
The Order of Mendi for Bravery is a South African honour, instituted on 30 November 2003. It was originally called the "Mendi Decoration for Bravery", and was renamed as an order on 22 October 2004. Although this is primarily a civilian honour, there have been a few military awards, including a collective award to the South African Air Force and South African Navy units which rescued the passengers from a sinking ocean liner in 1991, and a collective award to SAAF units which carried out flood relief operations in Mozambique in 2001. Classes The order is granted by the President (government title), president of South Africa, for bravery in saving life or property. It has three classes: * Gold (OMBG), for conspicuous bravery. * Silver (OMBS), for exceptional bravery, * Bronze (OMBB), for outstanding bravery. Namesake The order is named after a World War I troopship, the SS Mendi, SS ''Mendi'', which sank after a collision in 1917, with the loss of more than 600 (black) South Afr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Road Accidents
The following is a list of articles that contain a lists of traffic collisions, or list of people who died in traffic collisions. Lists of traffic collisions *List of traffic collisions (before 2000) *List of traffic collisions (2000–present) *List of traffic collisions by death toll Lists of deaths in traffic collisions *List of deaths by motorcycle crash *List of people who died in traffic collisions See also *List of car crash songs *List of level crossing crashes *List of professional cyclists who died during a race *List of racing drivers who died in racing crashes Many people, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport of auto racing, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Deaths among racers and spectators were ... {{Road accidents Lists of road transport incidents Traffic collisions Lists of transport lists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003 Disasters In South Africa
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societies. Evolution of the Arabic digit The use of three lines to denote the number 3 occurred in many writing systems, including some (like Roman and Chinese numerals) that are still in use. That was also the original representation of 3 in the Brahmic (Indian) numerical notation, its earliest forms aligned vertically. However, during the Gupta Empire the sign was modified by the addition of a curve on each line. The Nāgarī script rotated the lines clockwise, so they appeared horizontally, and ended each line with a short downward stroke on the right. In cursive script, the three strokes were eventually connected to form a glyph resembling a with an additional stroke at the bottom: ३. The Indian digits spread to the Caliphate in the 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_by_Antonio_Reyna_Manescau.jpg "Click for more on -> May Day")
