SA Roadlink bus up in flames

2010-03-22 18:06

Johannesburg - Paramedics have confirmed that a bus which caught alight on the N3 freeway in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Monday was an SA Roadlink bus.

"It was an SA Roadlink bus which had 68 occupants and two crew members...all of whom were uninjured," ER24 spokesperson Derrick Banks said.

Among the commuters were two American tourists.

"They lost everything in the fire....all their belongings as well as their aeroplane ticket back to the United States," he said.

The luggage of all other passengers was also destroyed.

Cause unknown

The bus had been en-route to Johannesburg, near Nottingham Road, when the bus driver noticed the fire.

"It is not known if there was an electrical fault. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined," he said.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Jeff Wicks said: "The bus driver noticed smoke billowing from the vehicle and pulled to the roadside."

The freeway had been closed and traffic was backed up.

The operator has been under the spotlight since 2006 following the death of 12 people after one of its buses crashed into a pillar of a bridge in KwaZulu Natal on Christmas Eve. The driver of the bus was later acquitted.

27 hurt in other accidents

Another seven people were killed in a Roadlink accident in Beaufort West last year.

Several buses from its fleet had also been suspended and pulled off the roads during the festive season, police said at the time.

Meanwhile, one person died and 27 others were injured in two other accidents in the province on Monday morning.

In Durban, 25 people were injured when two taxis and a car collided in Berea. On the R603, there was a head-on between a bakkie and SUV.
 

- SAPA