Grieving families who lost loved ones in the horrific DMJ Luxury Coach bus crash, which occurred in the Kei Cuttings, between East London and Butterworth, on August 16, have given their accounts of the void left by their departed loved ones.
A total of 31 people died from the crash, which occurred when the driver apparently lost control of the bus on the notorious Kei Cuttings south of the Kei River.
The bus driver was among those who died in the accident.
Express managed to trace two families, who lost two family members each, from the bus accident.
The Penisi family, from Sundwana Village in Ngcobo, said they lost their mother Nosindile Penisi (64) and her three-year-old grandchild, Ntando Bobotyane, in the accident.
“We are still in shock. My sister-in-law, Nosindile, was on the bus, returning from Cape Town, after she went there in July due to ill health,” said family member Kelani Tafeni.
“We were happy that she was discharged from hospital and was feeling much better from the treatment she received there and were looking forward to seeing her again little did we know that she would die unexpectedly from an accident.”
Nosindile’s daughter and mother to the deceased three-year-old boy was also on board the bus, but survived. Tafeni said she was still in hospital in East London by Friday last week.
“My sister-in-law has left a huge void in her immediate family, as she was the only breadwinner, through the old age grant she was receiving from the government, as all her children are unemployed,” Tafeni added.
She is survived by her daughters, one son and grandchildren.
The Simanga family, of Qanda location in Tsolo, also suffered a double blow from the accident after their daughter, Ongeziwe Simanga (24), and her son, Liyabona (4), were named among the deceased.
Ongeziwe was a third-year student at Walter Sisulu University’s Ibika Campus in Butterworth and was returning with her son from Cape Town, where they had spent the holiday with her older sister.
Family relative, Namhla Gcaleka, said the family was still coming to terms with the double loss.
Meanwhile, Eastern Cape Department of Transport spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, said 29 of those who died in the accident had been positively identified by their families at the time of going to print on Tuesday.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) also revealed, on August 19, that their crash investigation team was finalising its report on the causes of the fatal bus accident.
“The team is looking at the weather conditions, quality of the road, and the behaviour of the driver, moments before the crash happened, as well as mechanical examinations of both the bus and the trailer that it was pulling,” said RTMC spokesperson, Simon Zwane.
He further said the team would draw conclusions, and make finding and recommendations on what steps needed to be taken.
The Eastern Cape Department of Transport hosted a joint memorial service for all those who died in the bus accident.
It was held at a traffic checkpoint station, a few metres away from where the accident happened.
Spokesperson for Department of Transport, Unathi Binqose, said the memorial service comes as one of the people that were hospitalised – an adult man – has succumbed to his injuries yesterday morning, 25 August. This now takes the death toll to 31.
“Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane along with Transport MEC, Weziwe Tikana-Gxotiwe joined the bereaved families in prayer and in meditation as they remembered their loved ones,” said Bonqose.
He added that a total of 30 of the 31 victims have been successfully identified and claimed by their families.
The one body that is yet to be claimed by family members has been identified as that of a Mozambican national. Officials are working with relevant authorities to get the body to Mozambique for burial.
