A majority of those who survived the horrific N8 road accident involving a bus and a truck on Thursday, 10 November, have been discharged from hospital, while five with severe injuries still remain for further medical treatment.
Survivors were admitted to three hospitals – the Dr JS Moroka Hospital, the Botshabelo Hospital, and the Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital in Bloemfontein.
Numerous patients were released on Friday after they were admitted on Thursday. According to the Department of Health, 14 people were discharged from Moroka, and 44 at the Botshabelo Hospital. They were treated for minor injuries sustained when an Interstate Bus Line bus collided head-on with a truck on Thursday morning.
Mondli Mvambi, spokesperson of the department, stated that the five people still hospitalised at the Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital sustained serious injuries. Among them is a 48-year-old man who suffered a dislocated clavicle, a 20-year-old woman with head injuries, a 23-year-old woman with wrist fractures, a 38-year-old woman with an ankle fracture, and a 58-year-old woman with an open ankle fracture. He said four were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), while three were taken to theater at the Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital.
According to Mvambi, one of the three who were admitted in critical condition to the Pelonomi Hospital succumbed to her multiple fractures. The death toll remains at eight, of which six have been confirmed as women. Among the deceased are the drivers of the bus and truck, the latter of which was identified as an employee of Sedaka Logistics.
According to the bus company, at the time of the accident, there were 71 passengers on board on the 80-seater bus which was travelling from Zone 5 in Thaba Nchu to Bloemfontein.
Meanwhile, provincial government officials Montseng Tsiu, MEC for Health, Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela, William Bulwane, MEC of Police, Roads and Transport, and Kopung Ralikontsane, director general, visited the hospitalised accident survivors on Thursday night.
