Tragedy strikes young players

Heartbreak and devastation enveloped the community on Sunday night as news broke of a fatal accident involving members of a local soccer team.

The incident occurred at approximately 19:30 on the P111 into Carletonville.

The young players, all members of the Young Lions team, were on the back of a Ford Ranger bakkie on the way home after playing in the Sekunjalo Pre-Easter Games in Simunye, Bekkersdal, near Westonaria.

Although the Young Lions team’s base is in Carletonville, it also has players from Khutsong.

The bakkie, carrying at least 16 occupants, overturned on a straight section of the road between the turn-off to the Goldfields Private Golf Club and the intersection of the P111 and Annan Road in Carletonville. The bakkie eventually landed on the opposite side of the road towards the N12.

“Despite the prompt response from emergency services, two boys lost their lives at the scene, with another succumbing to injuries at Carletonville Hospital. An ambulance helicopter transported one priority-one patient with serious injuries from Carletonville Hospital to an emergency unit in Johannesburg for specialised emergency care,” says Mr Jurgens Bence, district manager of Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the West Rand.

The children who passed away are 10, 11 and 12 years old, respectively.
Mr Mojalefa Rasekete, the station manager at Gauteng EMS in Carletonville, commended the tireless efforts of emergency personnel and private services who worked diligently to stabilise and transport the injured children to hospitals for treatment.

“This is a huge tragedy. I saw those children at the tournament yesterday,” says a soccer coach from Khutsong, Hloni Kharejane.

“I was so shocked when I received the call,” added the chairperson of the MFA (Merafong Football Association), Mr Mbuyiselo Zuwani, on Monday afternoon, shortly after spending time with the coach and the parents of injured children at Carletonville Hospital.

According to Zuwani, SAFA (the South African Football Association) had not sanctioned the tournament the players attended, and, therefore, the necessary insurance against injury was not in place.

“In any event, SAFA would never have allowed anyone to transport the children on the back of an open bakkie like that,” he says. Zuwani says not even the team’s owner knew the children were participating in the tournament in Bekkersdal, as he was in Eswatini (our neighbouring country formerly known as Swaziland) to get married and had to rush back home a week early to attend to the crisis.

The Carletonville police are investigating a case of culpable homicide following the tragic incident.

In the wake of this tragedy, Bence reiterated the importance of road safety, especially during the upcoming Easter holiday period.

“The heartbreaking loss of the young soccer players is a stark reminder for motorists to exercise caution and vigilance on the roads.

As investigations into the accident continue, the community mourns the loss of three bright young souls taken too soon.

“Their absence leaves a void that can never be filled, their memory forever etched in the hearts of those who knew and loved them. Tragically, what should have been a day of camaraderie and sportsmanship ended in unimaginable loss,” says Bence.