Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Declares National Disaster After South Africa Bus Tragedy Claims 11 Lives

What the report says

Zimbabwe’s government has declared a national disaster after a bus crash in South Africa killed 11 Zimbabwean citizens who were travelling home from Cape Town, according to New Zimbabwe via AllAfrica. The accident happened last Thursday night on the N1 highway near Trompsburg in South Africa’s Free State province. Officials first reported 10 deaths, but the toll rose after a 47-year-old woman died later in hospital from her injuries.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, said President Emmerson Mnangagwa had invoked the Civil Protection Act to unlock emergency support. The declaration is intended to help authorities coordinate relief, assist injured passengers, repatriate the bodies, and support bereaved families. Government officials said the dead included one adult man, five adult women and five children.

The report said surviving passengers were being treated at hospitals in Bloemfontein, including Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital and Universitas Academic Hospital. Some of those with minor injuries were later discharged and continued their journey to Zimbabwe by another bus. Zimbabwe’s consul general in Johannesburg and Free State health officials visited the injured as identification of the deceased began, with families expected to take part in the process before repatriation arrangements are made.

The tragedy has drawn condolences from Mnangagwa and renewed attention to the risks faced by cross-border travelers between South Africa and Zimbabwe, a major regional route for work, family visits and seasonal movement.