On 1 May 2003, a coach bus drove into the
Saulspoort Dam
Sol Plaatje Dam (or Saulspoort Dam) is an earth-fill type dam located at the confluence of the As and Liebenbergsvlei Rivers near Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1968 and serves mainly for municipal and domestic water ...
near the town of
Bethlehem, South Africa
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 growin ...
, killing 51 people.
Overview
The bus was transporting trade union delegates to
May Day celebrations in the town of
QwaQwa in the
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
Saulspoort Dam
Sol Plaatje Dam (or Saulspoort Dam) is an earth-fill type dam located at the confluence of the As and Liebenbergsvlei Rivers near Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1968 and serves mainly for municipal and domestic water ...
. 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 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
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
. 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 was an old model, did not possess efficient emergency exits or safety equipment, and had poor brakes, which may have contributed to the disaster.
The dam was renamed the Sol Plaatje Dam on 1 April 2005.
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 '' L ...
, who used a boat to rescue the survivors, was awarded the Mendi Decoration for Bravery (since renamed
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, t ...
) (Silver) on 30 November 2003.
See also
*
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)
* ...
References
{{reflist
External links
SMH News Report
2003 disasters in South Africa
Bus incidents in South Africa
2003 road incidents
May 2003 events in South Africa
Road incidents in South Africa
Deaths by drowning