Westdene dam disaster
Encyclopedia
The Westdene Dam Disaster was a bus accident that took place in Westdene
, near Johannesburg
, South Africa
, on 27 March 1985.
About 3,000 people, including dozens of tearful parents, gathered near the scene as doctors and nurses battled to revive children pulled from the submerged bus. Police said 39 students drowned in the bus and two died later in hospital. Children traveling in another bus said some students trapped on the upper deck managed to break windows and swim to safety.
Westdene
Westdene is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is a northern suburb of the city, west of Patcham, the A23 and the London to Brighton railway line, north of Withdean and northeast of West Blatchington. It is on the Brighton side of the historic parish boundary between...
, near Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, on 27 March 1985.
The accident
The driver of a double decker bus lost control and the bus crashed through barriers into the Westdene dam, about three miles from the centre of Johannesburg. A witness said it appeared a tire blew out, sending the bus swerving into another vehicle before it smashed through a fence and plunged into the reservoir. The bus was transporting students from the local high school (Hoërskool Vorentoe).About 3,000 people, including dozens of tearful parents, gathered near the scene as doctors and nurses battled to revive children pulled from the submerged bus. Police said 39 students drowned in the bus and two died later in hospital. Children traveling in another bus said some students trapped on the upper deck managed to break windows and swim to safety.
Investigation
The driver, Willem Horne, could not remember what had happened and was acquitted.Casualties
The following children lost their lives in the disaster:- Blignaut, Anna
- Botha, Anne-Lize
- Botha, Henrietta
- Brown, Caroline
- Coetzee, Denise
- Dreyer, Hendrik
- Du Plooy, Linda
- Du Plooy, Reinette
- Du Toit, Francois
- Els, Jacobus
- Erasmus, Karen
- Fritz, Francina
- Horn, Adriana
- Hurwitz, Jacqueline
- Jacobs, Anel
- Jooste, Lelanie
- Kleinhans, Adre
- Koen, Petrus
- Kruger, Clasina
- Kruger, Maria
- Lira, Riaan
- Ludick, Madeleine
- Mans, Cornelius
- Marshall, Elmarie
- Marx, Conrad
- McLaughlin, Belinda
- Meyer, Catharina
- Miles, Mary-Ann
- Morris, Anna
- Ouwenkamp, Albertus
- Pieters, Tanya
- Pretorius, Connie
- Pretorius, Elizabeth
- Rautenbach, Thelma
- Reynders, Hester
- Strydom, Charl
- Swanepoel, Vinette
- Swart, Andries
- Van Der Westhuizen, Petrus
- Van Heerden, Elsa
- Van Tonder, Anna
- Venter, Deon