The Department of Transport has confirmed that seven children, including a 10-month-old baby, were among the 42 fatalities following a horror bus crash on the N1 near Louis Trichardt on Sunday.

Polokwane Review reports that the incident also left 49 others injured when the cross-border bus they were travelling in overturned and plunged down an embankment near the Ingwe Ranch at around 18:00.

The bus was carrying passengers from Zimbabwe and Malawi, travelling from the Eastern Cape toward their home countries.

Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi says seven children, 17 adult men and 18 adult women were killed, while the injured passengers include six who are in critical condition, 31 with serious injuries and 12 with minor injuries.

“The injured were transported to Louis Trichardt, Siloam and Elim hospitals, while a critically injured child was airlifted to Tshilidzini Hospital for urgent medical care,” he says.

Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy and the deputy minister, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, expressed deep sadness following the crash and visited the site yesterday, accompanied by the ambassadors to both Zimbabwe and Malawi.

The cause of the incident is not known but the Road Traffic Management Corporation said it will conduct a full scene reconstruction and mechanical inspection of the bus to determine what led to the tragedy, in collaboration with local law enforcement.

Both Creecy and Hlengwa voiced concern over recurring public transport crashes, reaffirming that the review of the National Road Safety Strategy will strengthen measures to prevent such incidents, particularly in the public and scholar transport sectors.

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