'At least his body's been found'
2003-05-02 22:00
Charles Smith
Bloemfontein - She had a "funny feeling" when her husband climbed on the bus to Qwa Qwa on Wednesday evening. She didn't want him to go with, but he wouldn't listen.
Thelma Ncike of Kimberley had just left the mortuary after identifying the body of her husband, Jeffrey, 35, a municipal inspector.
Jeffrey was on the ill-fated bus which plunged into the Saulspoort dam on the way to Workers' Day celebrations.
Thelma and their son, Sizwe, 11, have been left not only alone, but also face an uncertain future as Jeffrey was the breadwinner.
Nearly all the people who died in the disaster were, like him, breadwinners.
Some of the first people who wanted to report missing relatives were Isac Leburu and his wife, Anna, who were looking for two nephews.
A woman in a traffic department's uniform was next.
"I am looking for my friend, Josef Davids, because I saw him getting into the bus, but I can't get hold of him. His cell remains switched off", she said.
She was informed later that her friend had died in the disaster and said "I at least have the reassurance that his body has been found and that it's not at the bottom of the dam."
- Volksblad