By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has confirmed the total number of deaths in the horrific Vanderbijlpark scholar transport accident has risen to 13.
Preliminary report indicates the minibus taxi the pupils were travelling in, was struck by a side tipper truck, causing it to veer off the road.
SA Police Services (SAPS) said the driver of the minibus appeared to have lost control while attempting to overtake other vehicles.
The area has been cordoned off as investigators work to piece together.
Images on social media showed the crushed minibus on the roadside with distraught parents gathered behind the police tape. Some broke down in wails when they were allowed to see the bodies.
Matome Chiloane, Gauteng Education MEC, described the day as tragic for the department and Gauteng. He sent out condolences to the bereaved families, calling for vigilance on the roads.
“It is a really tragic day for us as the department and the province. We extend our deepest condolences to the learners, families, and school communities affected. We call for greater vigilance when it comes to scholar transports, particularly private scholar transports,” said Chiloane.
“It is a terrible scene,” Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also sent out his condolences. He noted that the accident happened on the same day that the South African Human Rights Commission published the scholar transport report in North West.
“Our children are the nation’s most precious assets and we must do all we can – from observing the rules of the road to the quality of service providers appointed to transport scholars – to protect learners,” said Ramaphosa.
More than 11,400 lives were lost on South African roads in 2025, according to the latest data from the transport ministry.
Many South African parents have to rely on private minibuses to get their children to school.
In October 2025, 18 children were badly hurt when their minibus lost control and overturned on a highway in KwaZulu-Natal. Also five students were killed and eight others injured when a school minibus ploughed into a creche.