The safety of scholar transport has once again come under the spotlight after a school bus plunged down an embarkment near Savuka gold mine, killing two learners and injuring scores more after its brakes seemingly failed.

The bus was on its way from Wedela Technical High School in Carletonville just before 16:00 on Thursday when its it is suspected the brakes failed downhill near the old Savuka sports grounds.

The driver later told police he lost control of the bus after he subsequently tried to stop it with the handbrake. He was rushed to hospital after the accident and did not flee the scene, as some reports incorrectly claimed.

Two learners, Lineo Makoae (16), a Grade 10 learner, and Sakhiwe Songwaxa (17), a Grade 8 learner, were killed in the accident.

“Upon assessing the other patients, medics found that around 58 more children, aged between 12 and 18, had sustained minor to serious injuries. The children were treated, and the seriously injured were transported to nearby hospitals for further care,” says ER24 spokesperson, Russel Meiring.

Authorities were at the scene until after dark to deal with the accident’s aftermath.

The next day, the new Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, visited the school and the accident site and spoke with parents and teachers.

A small group of concerned parents ushered the MEC to other buses belonging to the same transport contractor that owned the bus involved in the fatal accident. These buses were parked next to the school, ready to transport more learners.

The MEC and other officials were visibly shocked when parents called the driver of one of the buses. He showed that the bus could not be started with a key but had to be “hot-wired” to start.

The driver had to disentangle cables to shut the engine down again. Among other things, they also pointed out a badly worn tyre on another bus.

“It was clear that immediate intervention on scholar transport compliance must be implemented. All buses allocated to the school have been replaced temporarily until they complied with the rules of the road. We strongly believe that all scholar transport must be checked for roadworthiness monthly,” the MEC said.

As far as could be determined, the learners are now being transported by another company, Megabus.

Teachers at the school told the Carletonville Herald they were shocked and saddened by the accident, as they had known the learners, who were popular with them and their classmates.

The Gauteng Department of Education arranged for the psychosocial support team to visit the school to provide urgent trauma support extended to the families of the deceased learners.

The Carletonville police confirmed that they were investigating a culpable homicide case.