Bus survivors 'very lucky'
2003-05-02 15:17
Bethlehem - The 10 survivors of the Workers' Day bus disaster in the eastern Free State were "very lucky" to have remained alive in freezing cold and dark conditions, one of their rescuers said on Friday.
"If it was winter, they would not have made it," ambulance officer Rudi Kok said.
"The two who were able to swim all the way to the shore and call for help, were even more lucky.
"I only walked into the water for a few minutes, and it felt almost as if my heart was going to stop."
Kok said the other eight must have spent about 20 minutes standing in the water on the roof of the sunken bus before being rescued.
The water temperature in the Saulspoort Dam at the time of the accident at 05:00 on Thursday was an estimated 9 degrees Celsius.
'Hell of a fright'
"It must have been a hell of a fright. They had no idea where they were. It was dark, and all they could hear was the sounds of the water. They didn't even know whether someone was coming to help them," Kok said.
He said the remaining eight were speechless, just staring at them throughout the rescue operation.
"They were probably too shocked to utter a word."
Limited resources prevented them from mounting a more effective rescue, Kok told Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, who visited the accident scene on Friday.
"We don't have the necessary equipment in the area for such a situation," Kok said.
The nearest police divers, from Welkom on the Gold Fields, reached the accident scene only after around 09:00.
Bodies piled up at the back
When the bus was finally pulled out of the water after 14:00, bodies were piled up at the back as the drowning passengers had tried to escape the water streaming in from the lowered front part.
Kok said the bus must have been flooded very quickly, as vents on the roof would have sucked out remaining air almost immediately.
He said the trauma of seeing death on such a scale was affecting rescue workers only now.
"It is sinking in only now. If only such a thing does not happen again."
- SAPA