25 die in two horrorsmashes in West Cape

2003-10-30 09:46

Cape Town - At least 25 people have died in two smashes in the Western Cape in four hours - 21 died in a horror bus/truck smash in the Karoo and four in a head-on in Camps Bay.

In the horror smash in the Karoo at 01:05 on Thursday morning about 95km from Laingsburg, some passengers in the 87-seater bus were still trapped three hours after the accident.

Esra Maralack, acting assistant director of the Boland-Overberg emergency medical services, said the bus driver, like the truck driver, survived the smash, but was injured.

Sixteen passengers were injured, four of them seriously, and were taken to Beaufort West Hospital and to Prince Albert Hospital in the Karoo.

Maralack said the N1 had been cleared and was open to traffic again.

The force of the collision caused the Bokwes Coach Services bus, carrying 33 including the driver, and the Roy Nel Transport truck, to leave the road.

Accident fund promises immediate help

The bus was en route from Queenstown to Cape Town, and the truck was from the Eastern Cape.

Emergency services from Overberg, Worcester, Prince Albert, Beaufort West and George had been helping at the crash.

The Road Accident Fund has pledged to immediately help the families of those who were killed in the accident.

In the Cape Town smash, four people died in a head-on collision at 05:45 on Camps Bay Drive.

Three occupants of a Volkswagen Golf, including the driver, were killed instantly. The driver of a Mercedes was also killed. No further details were available

- SAPA