At least five people have been confirmed dead after a bus travelling from Gauteng to Limpopo crashed on the N1 highway near Makhado in the early hours of Thursday.
This is the same stretch of road where 41 passengers lost their lives in a horrific accident in October 2025.
Limpopo MEC for transport and community safety Violet Mathye verified the fatalities at the scene near Ingwe Lodge, characterising the area as a recurring hotspot.
“I’m at the scene where the bus that was carrying 31 passengers from Gauteng had an accident at the same spot where the last accident happened in October,” Mathye told the public broadcaster.
Police launch an investigation
She also told Newzroom Afrika that only five people have been confirmed dead. “The rest have been taken to the hospitals in the Vhembe district,” Mathye said.
Emergency services rushed the crash survivors to four hospitals across the district, while police have launched an investigation into what caused the crash.
The extent of the injuries had not been immediately established.
The section of the N1 highway outside Makhado has become synonymous with tragedy, particularly involving long-distance and cross-border buses heading north toward Zimbabwe.
In October 2025, a Zimbabwe-bound bus plunged down an embankment near the same Ingwe Lodge area, killing 41 people and injuring dozens more.
One of Limpopo’s deadliest road disasters in recent memory claimed the lives of most of the victims, who were foreign nationals returning home.
Preliminary findings at the time pointed to possible excessive speed and mechanical failure, with authorities indicating that the driver may have lost control on a downhill stretch.
ARVs among items found at the scene
Emergency responders found large buckets and boxes of medication scattered among the wreckage, further clouding the crash controversy.
Among the items were antiretroviral (ARV) medicines and other prescription drugs in quantities that raised questions.
Police opened an inquiry to determine the origin of the medication, who it belonged to, and whether it was being transported legally, warning that the unauthorised possession or cross-border movement of scheduled medicines constitutes a criminal offence.
The discovery intensified worries about regulatory supervision, encompassing not only passenger safety but also the transportation of goods on long-distance buses.
Thursday’s crash, at precisely the same location, is expected to renew pressure on authorities to tighten enforcement, improve road engineering interventions, and increase monitoring of nighttime cross-border operations along the N1 highway.
Motorists have been urged to exercise extreme caution as investigations into the latest incident continue.
