Seven people lost their lives and 52 suffered injuries in a horrific bus accident that occurred on the Long Tom Pass yesterday.

The bus was travelling from Mokopane in Limpopo, and headed to Sabie for a music festival for the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Multiple emergency services received a call about the horrific crash just before 17:00. When EMS arrived on the scene, an on-scene triage area was established to treat patients and then take them to nearby hospitals for further treatment.

It was all hands on deck with Emer-G-Med, ER24, Netcare911, Midlands EMS, Hi-Tech Medical Services, Africa SAFE-T Emergency Medical Service, and the provincial EMS stabilising and transporting the 52 injured passengers.

Emer-G-Med’s Kyle van Reenen says the injuries ranged from minor to critical. Three patients had to be airlifted by the Netcare911 aeromedical helicopter to specialist facilities for further care.

@lowvelder LONG TOM PASS ACCIDENT UPDATE: Lowvelder is on the scene. According to Emer-G-Med’s Martin Jeffrey, there are 53 injured persons. Six deaths have been confirmed. Sarza is on the scene. Van Wettens will be moving in with a rig to recover the bus. This will then determine if there are more dead or injured. The road is still closed and motorists are advised to use alternative routes. Lowvelder will update its readers once more information becomes available. #Buscrash #caraccident #longtompass #accident #rescue ♬ original sound – Lowveld Media

Search and Rescue South Africa (SARZA) was also on the scene, and played a vital role in the rescue of injured patients and the recovery of the seven bodies.

Once all the patients had been rescued and transported to hospital, Van Wettens Breakdown Services moved in with the rig to pull the bus up so that SARZA could continue to recover the bodies.

The SAPS and traffic department were also on scene. All the bodies were recovered just after 01:00 today.

According to the owner of the bus company, Vuki Chuene, his driver informed him that the bus had suffered a flat tyre as they were going downhill, and he lost control and the bus rolled.

“For now, we only know that the bus had a puncture and lost control, however, we will wait for the police investigation to verify the incident while we also do our own internal investigation. The bus was in good condition, as we always maintain them so [they] can be roadworthy all the time. Even our drivers are well trained,” he says.

Chuene sent a message of condolences to the deceased’s families and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured. He said he had already dispatched another bus to collect those who will be discharged from the hospitals.

He adds he had already visited some of the injured people in the various hospitals in Mbombela.

Meanwhile, Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe appealed for cautious usage of the roads during this festive season.

He said it was deeply disheartening for the province to start the season on such a grim note.

“We are concerned about the number of fatalities that the province has recorded so far from the crashes since last week. We continue to make a clarion call to motorists to be extremely vigilant amid rising traffic volumes. They should be patient and plan their trips accordingly,” said Shongwe.

The road has been cleared and is open for traffic.

Also read: Videos: 7 killed in horrific bus crash on the Long Tom Pass