Six pupils died and 48 others were injured when the school bus they were travelling in overturned outside Ventersburg, Free State on Tuesday afternoon. A group of 58 pupils from Riebeeckstad High School in Welkom were returning from an outdoor sports event in the Moolmanshoek Nature Reserve near Ficksburg and Rosendal when tragedy struck. It is believed that the driver of the bus transporting the schoolgirls lost control when a wheel loosened, causing the bus to overturn along the R70.
According to the Free State provincial government, six pupils were confirmed dead on the scene and four others suffered critical injuries. Eight pupils sustained moderate injuries and 40 suffered minor injuries. Passengers’ belongings strewn on the ground after the bus was righted in the aftermath of the Free State bus crash which killed six pupils