Welkom | Tributes pour in to families of six schoolgirls killed in fatal accident

Messages of condolences are pouring in to the families of six pupils killed when the bus they were travelling in overturned on the R70 Ventersburg-Senekal road in the Free State on Tuesday, February 6. 

The Free State provincial office of the premier and the basic education department expressed their heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families and friends of the six school children who tragically lost their lives in a horrific tragedy.

It is reported that on Tuesday, February 6, the accident involved 58 female pupils from Hoërskool Riebeeckstad who were returning from an all-girls sport event in Moolmanshoek near Rosendal to Riebeeckstad in Welkom. 

The department of basic education said in a released statement that the Senekal police confirmed the bus overturned after a wheel came loose and the driver lost control. 

“Six pupils were declared dead on the scene, 40 sustained minor injuries, eight had moderate injuries and four were severely injured,” the Free State premier’s office said. 

“This tragedy struck as we were busy celebrating the success of the matric class of 2023. The deaths of those souls has robbed us of the future of our province. Words fail me and I can only imagine what the families are going through,” Free State premier Mxolisi Dukwana said. 

Basic education minister Angie Motshekga said this was “not the kind of news a parent should expect” when their children go out on a school excursion.

“We hope that an investigation will shed light on what happened,” Motshekga said.