Distraught families of pupils killed in a motor vehicle accident on Heritage Day, say they are struggling to come to terms with their loss.
Six people died and 14 were injured when a bakkie they were travelling in overturned.
The children were from villages near Coffee Bay and had gone to the beach to celebrate the public holiday.
“I am so hurt,” said Kholiswa Kezile, whose son Sinokholo, 15, was killed. “In fact I am just finding it hard to accept that my child is gone.”
Kezile, who works in Cape Town, rushed home after hearing the news. Her son, a Grade 7 pupil at Ngcenduna Junior Secondary School, was killed alongside his cousin Andisile Kezile, 17, who was doing Grade 9 at Upper Mpako Senior Secondary in Kwaaiman near Mqanduli.
Other pupils killed during the tragic accident included Emihle Gqemfe, 12, a Grade 5 pupil at Ngcenduna, Upper Mpako SS Grade 10 pupil Nyaniso Mkhunkase, and Buhle Lugetye, 19, who attended Dudumayo Senior Secondary School. The name of the sixth victim is unknown.
Eastern Cape provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the bakkie had been ferrying about 25 people, although at the time it was not clear that they were pupils. He said the accident took place on the R411 near Coffee Bay.
Emihle's uncle Kwelo Gqemfe said the children had decided to take advantage of the holiday by going to the beach. “They left at around noon in a bakkie from a neighbouring village but two hours later we received [the tragic] call.”
Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima expressed condolences to the families...