Ten foreign nationals lost their lives when a bus they were traveling in overturned in South Africa’s Limpopo Province on Tuesday night, local authorities confirmed on Wednesday. The tragic accident occurred on the N1 highway near Makhado while the bus was en route to Johannesburg from neighboring Zimbabwe.
The Limpopo Provincial Department of Transport and Community Safety reported that the victims included five males and five females, all identified as foreign nationals. The department revealed that the bus was traveling at high speed when it drove over a roundabout—the last traffic circle from Makhado toward Polokwane—causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to overturn.
The bus driver, who was reportedly new to the job and unfamiliar with the area, failed to navigate the traffic circle properly, leading to the fatal accident. In addition to the ten fatalities, several passengers sustained injuries. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), three people were seriously injured, while 20 others suffered minor injuries in the incident.
The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, with authorities urging all road users to exercise caution, particularly when approaching traffic circles.
This tragedy follows two other major road accidents in Limpopo Province earlier this year. In May, 13 people died in a head-on collision involving a heavy motor vehicle and a minibus taxi. In March, 45 people traveling from Botswana to South Africa were killed in another bus accident.