business

April 18, 2019

NKOATE THAMAE

2 min read

Govt assists families of head-on collision tragedy

Govt assists families of head-on collision tragedy

Taxi accident

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The Government of Lesotho has pledged to compensate families of the deceased who were involved in a head-on collision accident on their way from South Africa on a business trip. The Minister of Communication, Thesele Maseribane, revealed this at a prayer ceremony held at Sethaleng sa Mopapa Maseru to welcome the remains of 11 deceased from South Africa last week.

The accident happened on the R26 between Fouriesburg and Bethlehem in the early hours of Saturday morning on March 2 where 13 people were killed while eight others were injured in the collision involving a car and two minibuses. A vehicle lost control and then hit a minibus in a head-on collision before instantly catching fire. According to Hilary Mophete from the Free State Department of Roads and Safety, 11 people died in one minibus along with the driver of a BMW vehicle as well as one person from another minibus, while 8 people were injured and taken to hospital.

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Of the 13 dead 11 were burnt beyond recognition and South Africa DNA experts were asked to help identify the charred remains. When delivering his speech at the prayer meeting, Maseribane said the unforgettable tragedy doesn’t only affect the bereaved families all Basotho so the Government of Lesotho had to provide support and compensation to the families of the deceased.

He explained that after they had heard about the tragedy, the Government of Lesotho formed a committee of cabinet ministers that worked with taxi associations and mortuary owners to convey the remains of the 11 remains from South Africa and ensure proper burial arrangements. The government will also provide counselling services through the ministry of Social Development to all the families affected, he revealed, in addition to assisting vulnerable children of the deceased after burial.

Lekhooa Rabatho, on behalf of grieving families, expressed gratitude to the Government of Lesotho for the support, especially in facilitating DNA services without which it would have been impossible to identify the remains of their loved ones. After the prayer ceremony, remains of the 11 were taken to different mortuaries where each family will make its own funeral arrangements.

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