Zim Embassy in SA deploys team to help Western Cap...

Zim Embassy in SA deploys team to help Western Cape accident victims

Zim Now Writer

Zimbabwe’s Consulate in Cape Town has sent a team to the accident scene where 13 Zimbabwean nationals were killed while several were injured, including 12 still in hospital, after their coach collided with a haulage truck on the N1 highway near Hex River Pass, Western Cape, in South Africa.

The team will be assisting the injured and the families of the deceased.

The accident occurred on Saturday night when a Simplex Bus Company coach collided with a commercial truck headed in the opposite direction, some 140km before Cape Town along the Hex River Pass, which has sharp curves.

The bus was on its way from Harare to Cape Town.

The driver of the bus reportedly jumped out of the vehicle just before the collision, but unfortunately he died as well.

Zimbabwe’s Consul-General in Cape Town, Esther Mudambo said the 13 dead are yet to be identified, adding that a team was already on the ground working with the South African government and the relatives of the accident victims.

“Following the tragic accident that occurred on March 9, about 140km from Cape Town, South Africa along the N1 Highway, involving a Zimbabwe operated bus company, Simplex Tours, officials from the Zimbabwe Consulate visited the accident scene to offer assistance,” said the Consul-General.

“Currently, the consulate is working flat out to assist the victims of the accident. Preliminary reports indicate that 13 people are confirmed dead, while 12 are still hospitalised, nine are at the Worcester Hospital and three others are hospitalised in Cape Town”.

Thirty-eight have since been discharged and further details will be availed in due course.