Memorial for pupils killed in horror taxi crash

A memorial service was held at the community hall in the Sokhulimi Village in Gauteng for the 18 school children who died in a horror taxi crash in Bronkhorstspruit, north of Pretoria, late last month.

Twenty people were killed when the taxi they were travelling in collided with a truck and burst into flames on the R25 just outside Bronkhorstspruit.

Learners and principals from various schools in the region, government officials, as well as religious leaders gathered to pay their respects.

The pupils were from Mpumalanga but attended school in Gauteng and had to travel to and from provinces.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said the DNA tests had been concluded and all the children identified.

“Tomorrow we will sign off all the DNA test results and hand them over to the families together with their loved ones. We are saying to the families we have done everything possible… normally the process takes three months,” Lesufi said.

The MEC added that a tombstone in memory of the 18 pupils would be put up in two schools and that the funeral costs – including support to the families – had been covered by government.

“It is abnormal to lose 20 people at the same time. It is a national disaster,” Lesufi said.

He said that 16 learners will be buried in a mass funeral on Saturday in Verena, and on Sunday one will be buried in KwaZulu-Natal and one in Limpopo.

Another memorial service will be held in Verena in Mpumalanga on Thursday.

The driver of the taxi, who also died in the crash, was laid to rest over the weekend.