At least 44 individuals who perished in a tragic bus accident over the Easter weekend in South Africa were laid to rest in Botswana on Saturday.
Nearly 5,000 mourners, dressed in black, gathered in the Botswana village of Molepolole to bid farewell to the victims, marking the solemn occasion nearly a month after the devastating crash.
The bus crash claimed the lives of all passengers except for one 8-year-old child. The bus driver, Ogaufi Noonyane, was buried separately in Thamaga village, approximately 40 kilometers away.
The victims were en route to an Easter pilgrimage of the Zion Christian Church, a prominent denomination in southern Africa, when their bus veered off a bridge near Mokopane village in South Africa’s Limpopo province, plunging approximately 50 meters below.
The accident underscored the perilous state of South Africa’s roads during the Easter period, when millions of travelers traverse the country for the extended holiday.
The collective funeral procession followed the repatriation of the victims’ remains to Botswana.
Among the attendees was Phophi Ramathuba, the provincial minister of health for Limpopo, who expressed deep sorrow and solidarity with the affected families.
