Grief, shock and heroism as families visit site where 29 died in bus crash

The families of those killed in the Centane bus disaster struggled on Tuesday to accept that their beloved mothers, sisters, brothers and daughters were gone forever.

A cloud hung above the villages of Cwebe and Lusizini, homes to most of the dead passengers.

Adding to the trauma was the news on Tuesday that a three-year-old boy, the first victim to be airlifted from the scene, had died in Frere Hospital.

On Tuesday morning social development social workers, other officials and church leaders were on hand to comfort and counsel the grieving families.

A ceremony was held at the Butterworth town hall before the families took the dreadful journey to identify the bodies and sign documents to give permission for postmortems to be conducted.

Distraught Lungile Susela, who travelled from King William’s Town to identify the body of her sister, Hombakazi Nomzi Susela, said: “I am devastated that my sister died in this horrific accident.

“I think that the government, and also the bus company, should take responsibility for this.

“This is a disaster.”

Mavis Tolom-Nquma, who  lost her older sister, Novusile Komani, said: “This is so very traumatic, it has left us all confused. She was such a sweet soul — a pillar of us all at home.

“We had hoped she was not among those who died, but we found her among the dead,” she said.

Mncedisi Papa cried out in shock and disbelief when he saw the body of his mother, Nothobile Papa.

“I could not believe this could be my mother who is dead — no, it cannot be.

“The last time I saw my mother was early on Monday, when I accompanied her to the bus,” Papa said.

“She was full of life and there was no indication that I would never see her alive again.

“This is very devastating.

“Now there are 64 people who have died on the roads of Centane.

“The first crash killed 35 people and now this one has killed 29.

“How many more must die before these roads are fixed?”

The health department’s acting director for forensic pathology services, Dr Mtandeki Xamlashe, had his hands full on Tuesday morning when the identification process became chaotic, with some families wanting to enter the small offices in large numbers.

Xamlashe said: “Their anger is understandable. They have just lost their loved ones in an horrific accident.

“They are still distraught and traumatised. All they want is to see the bodies of their relatives.”

Nxaxho villager Jackson Matroos, 67, was hailed a hero.

He took several trips with other rescue personnel to bring injured people from the wreckage to the top of the treacherous hill and took several to hospital.

Older people directed younger villagers to climb down the hill. Matroos joined the youngsters.

“In my heart all I wanted was to save as many lives as we could,” he said.

“I wish we could have saved all the lives in the bus, but unfortunately only God decides. It is a pity that we have lost 29,” Matroos added.

He and Nkosi Phathuxolo Tyali called on the government to fix the road and tar the 25km section between the N2 near Butterworth and Tafalofefe Hospital.

The families of the deceased and traditional leaders have called for a cleansing ceremony to be conducted at the crash site.

Some of the bodies are being kept in Butterworth and others in East London.

Several funeral parlours have come forward to help and leaders of the SA Council of Churches in the province, as well as regional leaders, are set to visit the bereaved families.

— DispatchLIVE