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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau

Five people, believed to be Zimbabweans were killed while 56 were injured when a bus they were travelling in overturned on the N1 North outside Louis Trichardt in Limpopo on Wednesday evening.

In a statement, Limpopo Transport and Community Safety Department said the driver of the bus that was pulling a trailer lost control and it overturned.

The bus was travelling from Gauteng to Zimbabwe.

“The crash led to the closure of the road for several hours while emergency personnel were trying to rescue passengers trapped in the wreckage,” said the Department.

“This is a third major accident that the province has recorded in less than 10 days. Last week, two separate accidents that claimed six lives each were reported on the N1 South and R529 respectively.”

Limpopo Transport and Community Safety Member of Executive Committee (MEC), Ms Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya said she was concerned about the carnage in the Province.

She said motorists should take extra caution to avoid the unnecessary loss of lives on the roads.

“It is concerning that in less than ten days, we had three major accidents with 17 fatalities.  I want to urge motorists, especially public transport operators to drive with caution and reduce speed,” she said.

More than 20 Zimbabweans have died on the N1 highway due to road accidents.

The road is the major commercial artery linking South Africa with the rest of the Sadc countries north of the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers.