Four hours before a bus crashed on the Hex River Pass claiming 24 lives, it was stopped by traffic authorities, the owners say.
|||Cape Town -
Four hours before a double-decker bus crashed on the Hex River Pass claiming 24 lives, the vehicle was stopped by traffic authorities and it passed a roadworthy and loading test, the owners say.
The company, Atlantic Charters and Tours, also says the bus, which crashed on March 15, had the correct permit and operating disc.
However, Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle said based on information gathered so far, the bus’s roadworthy certificate expired about a month ago and this affected its operating licence.
He said the incident was still under investigation.
The bus was transporting 60 members of the 12 Apostle Church in Christ, who were returning to Khayelitsha from an international mothers’ prayer meeting in Secunda when it crashed.
In a press release issued by Atlantic Charters and Tours’ spokeswoman, Aneeqah Salie, and its legal representative, Shaheid Schrueder, in response to earlier comments by Carlisle about the condition of the bus, the company denied there had been faults with the bus’s documentation.
Carlisle, speaking to the Cape Times two days ago, said Atlantic Charters and Tours had not contacted him.
The company said the bus’s carrier operating permit was issued on January 25 and was valid until August 31, 2016.
It said the bus’s vehicle licencing and operating disc was valid until August 31 this year.
Atlantic Charters and Tours said during the December festive season, it was “compulsory for every vehicle to be roadworthy and inspected thoroughly every day before departure” and the bus had gone through full roadworthy tests roughly every three days in December.
However, Carlisle said the bus’s roadworthy certificate expired on February 28.
“As far as we know, that also renders the operating licence invalid,” he said.
Atlantic Charters and Tours said that about four hours before the crash, traffic officials had stopped the bus in Beaufort West and it was inspected for roadworthiness and overloading.
“Needless to say, there were no issues found with the vehicle or documentation and the vehicle was released and was allowed to proceed on its journey,” it said.
But Carlisle said the traffic officers had only checked the bus’s weight and did not have the “highly complex equipment” to carry out a roadworthy test. He said he hoped investigators would dismantle the bus to try to isolate what caused the incident.
caryn.dolley@inl.co.za
Cape Times