By Ziyah News Network
THE disorderly removal of foreigners from South Africa which has caused a humanitarian crisis has claimed the lives of 11 Malawians and the driver of the bus carrying undocumented migrants to the Beitbridge Border Post on Wednesday.
The bus was ferrying undocumented Malawian nationals from KwaZulu-Natal to the Musina Repatriation Centre ahead of their return home when it overturned along the N1 outside Musina in Limpopo.
Emergency services confirmed that the death of the driver at the scene while the injured passengers were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Reporting from the crash scene, Newzroom Afrika journalist Zakona Chona said:
“The driver has been confirmed dead. Eleven people have been injured and they have been transported to a nearby hospital.”
The accident comes as thousands of Malawian nationals continue arriving at Beitbridge after leaving South Africa following the country’s immigration enforcement operations.
Many remain stranded at the border, relying on the generosity of local businesses, churches and residents, who have mobilised to provide food and other basic necessities to people sleeping on the streets while awaiting transport back to Malawi.
According to reports, many of those involved in the crash had already travelled hundreds of kilometres from KwaZulu-Natal before spending hours outside immigration offices in Musina waiting to be processed by the Department of Home Affairs.
Before the fatal crash, one of the drivers reportedly spoke of the immense pressure facing those involved in the repatriation exercise.
Chona also described the scene left behind after the accident, saying only a handful of personal belongings remained scattered across the road.
“It is not much in terms of personal belongings. It shows how desperate the situation was when they were leaving their homes,” she said.
Food parcels and baby supplies distributed by humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers were among the items strewn across the crash site, underscoring the difficult circumstances under which many of the migrants had fled South Africa.
The crash has highlighted the growing human cost of the ongoing repatriation exercise, which has seen thousands of undocumented migrants passing through the Beitbridge Border Post in recent days.
Authorities have not yet established the cause of the accident. Investigations into the fatal crash are continuing.