The South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has saddened over the death of 12 learners from Rocklands Primary school and Laerskool Blyvooruitsig in road incident in Merafong City on Wednesday.
In a statement released by the Presidency, the President offered his condolences to the families, friends, fellow learners, educators of the deceased children while wished a speedy and full recovery to seven learners suffered injuries in the incident that involved a scholar transport vehicle.
He said, “The loss of such young lives at the start of a new school term touches all of us as a nation.
“We wish the affected families and school communities the best as they mourn the passing of the children who were deprived of fulfilling their potential and spending their lives with families and friends.
“This tragedy, which regretfully is not the first of its kind to confront us, demands that that we exercise our obligation to protect our children with the utmost care”, President Ramaphosa added.
Report has it that twelve South African school children and their minibus driver died on Wednesday morning in a traffic accident, officials in the Gauteng province said in a statement.
The minibus transporting primary school students in Kokosi-Wedela in the Merafong Local Municipality was hit from behind by a pickup truck, causing it to overturn and catch fire, also injuring seven students, education officials said.
“Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding this horrific accident,” the statement said. The accident happened at around 6.45 a.m. local time (0545GMT), a rush hour for school and work commuters.
The accident claimed the life of 11 pupils from Rockland Primary School and one pupil from Laerskool Blyvooruitsig and their driver.
The Education Department said it dispatched its psycho-social support team to the school to provide immediate support and to work closely with the school and affected families.
“The loss of our children is a devastating blow to our community, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased and injured learners,” said Gauteng Education Minister Matome Chiloane.
Minibus taxis are the main mode of transport in South Africa, transporting millions of people to work, schools, provinces, towns, and even across borders daily.
