15/10/2025
LIMPOPO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT UPDATES ON N1 SUNDAY FATAL BUS ACCIDENT
The Limpopo Provincial Government has provided an update on progress made on the N1 Louis Trichardt bus accident, especially the identification processes of the remains of 43 deceased.
The bus, traveling from the Eastern Cape to Zimbabwe, carried 91 passengers when it veered off the Zoutpanesburg mountain on Sunday, 12 October 2025. Of the occupants, 43 lost their lives, 40 received medical attention in different medical facilities while eight self-discharged.
As of today, 14 October 2025, 17 families have arrived at Tshilidzini Hospital to identify their loved ones. The identification process will continue Wednesday, 15 October 2025 at the very hospital for the remaining families.
The victim identification team has taken photographs of all the deceased and the provincial government is encouraging families who are searching for their loved ones to visit the hospital as part of family identification.
The Victim Identification will also start with the process of collecting fingerprint sets from all the bodies. It is anticipated that by Wednesday the Forensic Pathology teams would have concluded with the post-mortem examinations.
Working with authorities from both Zimbabwe and Malawi, the province hopes that they will be able to run fingerprints comparison on their side since some of the deceased do not even have identification documents.
This process remains tedious to make sure all the remains land in the hands of the correct families. It is only then that they will be able to repatriate them for their families to have their final closure.
To date, 19 patients have been discharged from Siloam, Louis Trichardt Memorial and Elim hospitals to reconnect with their families in Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Limpopo Premier Dr. Phophi Ramathuba stated that the provincial government is happy with the work done thus far by various teams in assisting families find closure.