Africa-Press – South-Africa. Strong winds of up to 60km/h may have toppled the Dale College Boys’ Primary School bus, which resulted in the deaths of two pupils on the N2 outside Qonce in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday. Fourteen others were injured.
Eastern Cape police said they were investigating a case of culpable homicide after two under-13 first-team hockey players, aged 12 and 13, died on the scene of the accident.
They were flung from the minibus as they had not been wearing seatbelts, said a senior traffic officer who was at the scene.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana said the accident occurred at about 16:30 on the N2 near Ntabozuko, between East London and Qonce.
The Eastern Cape transport department said 14 people, including the school bus driver, were taken to hospitals in Mdantsane and East London.
The bus crashed in front of horrified members of the school’s second hockey squad, which was in a 22-seater bus closely driving behind it.
Two seasoned traffic officers, who were among the first responders at the scene, told News24 that the wind may have affected the minibus, causing it to overturn and land on its roof.
A strong wind blew across the Buffalo City Metro for the greater part of Tuesday.
The Gqeberha office of the SA Weather Service (SAWS) said the wind in the area started picking up to 32-40km/h between 07:00 and 08:00, and was strongest at 50-60km/h between 10:00 and 14:00.
Meteorologist Lelo Kleinbooi said the strong wind was caused by a tight pressure gradient as a cold front had passed through.
The Buffalo City Metro is prone to strong winds this time of year, but Kleinbooi said no wind warning had been issued.
Kleinbooi added that the weather office had not anticipated impacts that warranted a warning.
One of the traffic officers said:
“You see, these Quantum minibuses have a challenge driving during windy days on an open road or on an open field, especially over long distances. They are easily pushed by wind. This is what we have observed in many accidents involving this type of vehicle over the years,” said the other officer.
The officer said that unlike the Quantum, the unaffected 22-seater Iveco sprinter minibus, which was transporting the second team, has double wheels at the back, which gives it maximum balance and ability to withstand winds.
“According to the report, the bus was travelling towards King William’s Town (Qonce) when it overturned in the middle of the road. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation,” Kinana said.
When News24 visited the school on Tuesday evening, a group of eight concerned parents and assistant principal Ingrid Schenk stood outside the school gates in disbelief.
Speaking outside the school gates surrounded by the distraught parents, a visibly heartbroken Schenk said the accident happened while the hockey team was travelling back from a hockey festival hosted by East London’s Stirling Primary School.
Asked how she felt, Schenk said: “Words cannot express how I feel.”
Schenk said the school would release a statement with more information, including the names of the pupils, on Wednesday.
Parents called for a day of prayer, adding that “the devil had targeted” the school.
The accident comes as the college’s senior school, Dale College Boys’ High, is mourning the loss of four pupils since December 2021.
“We are calling for a day of prayer. We must pray because we cannot allow this. It’s just the devil’s action,” said Fikiswa Tyopo, the parent of an under-10 rugby player at the school.
The parents told News24 the school was not at fault because whenever there were trips, strict safety measures were always followed. They said each school bus had more than two teachers supervising pupils.
One parent added:
“We are here as parents to support the hockey parents whose children were involved in the accident. This terrible news shatters us. Our hearts go out to all the parents affected by this dreadful incident,” said a shocked Linda Nyaniso, the mother of an under-13 first-team rugby player.In a letter to parents on Tuesday night, seen by News24, principal Patricia Thatcher announced that the school would be closed on Wednesday to allow staff, pupils and parents time to support the families affected by the accident.Thatcher, who said she wrote the letter with a heavy heart, said the school would communicate further on Wednesday.ALSO | Education dept, police launch probes after pupil dies on school hiking trip in Eastern CapeEastern Cape health department spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said seven pupils, and the driver who had been injured, were admitted to the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane on Tuesday.Dekeda said one of the pupils was seriously injured and was later transferred to a private hospital for further care. According to her, the driver and five pupils have since been discharged, while two pupils are still in hospital.The accident happened nearly two months after Dale College Boys’ High first-team rugby lock Liyabona Teyise, 18, died during a match on 9 April, after a collision that caused a brain bleed.On 3 April, the body of 17-year-old Lisakhanya Lwana was discovered along the R63 outside Qonce. Lwana was the first-team flyhalf.In February, 15-year-old Milisa Kolanti died at an East London hospital within 48 hours of falling ill, the school previously said. The school believed that Kolanti had contracted a very serious stomach illness after drinking municipal tap water.In December, Obakhe Magxunyana, 16, from Komani, was killed in a single-vehicle crash while en route to an initiation school to drop off food for his brother, who was an initiate.The car hit a pothole and overturned, killing Magxunyana instantly, ”
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