#WestdeneDamDisaser: 33 years on, together we mourn (VIDEO)
WESTDENE – This year, 33 years have gone by since one of the country's biggest, tragic disasters.
On 27 March 1985, 42 children lost their lives after a double-decker school bus unexpectedly swerved left into the Westdene Dam.
Up until this day, no one knows why or how 30 children survived and 42 lost their lives.
Many were affected by the Westdene Dam disaster and today they can share memories on platforms like the Westdene Dam Disaster Facebook page or the tribute website at www.westdene1985.co.za
The website has curated interviews, media reports and photos of the incident. Here, one can get a full picture of how many lives were affected by the tragedy.
Survivors like Elize Venter, who helps keep the website running, previously disclosed, in an interview with Netwerk24, that she remembers that day in detail. “We just heard screams. It happened very fast,” she said.
“I don’t remember people around me. I remember steel, I remember the seats of the bus. Then I saw my family standing at my grave.”
Venter was thankfully rescued out of the water. She said afterwards it was difficult for her to accept that people could die at that age.
Indeed, many friends and family still find it difficult to accept that these children died so young, their lives very much still ahead of them.
Neels Els, who was also on the bus and lost his brother Jakobus, previously told Solidariteit Radio that his parents, to this day, are not the same. He said it completely changed their family and he still dreams about it.
But through platforms like the website and annual picnics at the dam, 33 years later, these young souls are still remembered.
Most of the children were also buried at Westpark Cemetery. A memorial was erected and the graves can still be seen as you enter the cemetery on the left-hand side.
Information obtained from www.westdene1985.co.za
