Garden Route farming community in mourning

By Khanyisa Tabata
24 August 2011

The bodies of at least 14 school children have been recovered from a river outside Knysna after a school bus plunged from a low-water bridge this morning.

The driver of the bus also died, while scores of kids were injured. The children are all from a small Garden Route farming community and are pupils at the Rheenendal Primary School.

ER 24’s André Visser says a total of 42 children were treated and transferred to different government hospitals.

Meanwhile Transport Minister Sbusiso Ndebele says they want to convey condolences to the families and colleagues of those killed, and wish the injured a speedy recovery.

Ndebele said The Road Traffic Management Corporation has dispatched an independent team of accident investigation and reconstruction specialists to assist in the investigation of this crash.