HARARE – Zimbabwe has declared a state of disaster following a crash involving a Munhenzva Transport Services bus in South Africa that killed 11 Zimbabwean nationals traveling home from Cape Town, as authorities began arrangements to identify the victims and repatriate their bodies.

The crash occurred Thursday night on the N1 highway near Trompsburg in South Africa’s Free State province.

Ten people were initially confirmed dead, but the death toll rose to 11 after a 47-year-old woman died at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital, where she had been receiving intensive care.

“The patient had been receiving intensive care and was on ventilatory support,” Free State Department of Health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said.

The woman was among four passengers admitted in critical condition. The remaining critically injured passengers continue to receive treatment at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital and Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein.

In a statement, Zimbabwe’s Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster under Section 27(1) of the Civil Protection Act following the Munhenzva Transport Services bus crash.

The government said the victims comprised one adult male, five adult women and five minors.

Garwe said the declaration would enable the government to mobilise resources and coordinate assistance for affected families, including repatriating the deceased, assisting survivors and providing humanitarian support.

Mvambi said Zimbabwe’s Consul General in Johannesburg, Eria Phiri, accompanied by Free State Health Department head Ernest Mohlahlo, visited injured passengers while authorities facilitated the identification of those killed.

“The Free State government mortuary is coordinating arrangements for the identification of the deceased by their families with repatriation processes to follow suit,” Mvambi said.

He said families are expected to begin identifying the victims from Monday through August 7.

Most survivors were discharged Friday after receiving treatment for minor injuries at Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein and Alfred Nzula Hospital in Trompsburg. They were transported to Zimbabwe on another bus.

The Zimbabwean government said Mnangagwa had conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and wished those injured a swift recovery.