Botswana has declared a national disaster following a fatal road accident that claimed 45 church members who were on a pilgrimage to neighbouring South Africa at the weekend.
In a statement on Monday, the Botswana government said there would be nationwide memorial services for the 45 St. Engenas Zion Christian Church members who perished while on an Easter pilgrimage to South Africa on March 29.
“The decision to hold a nationwide memorial service was taken in recognition of the fact that the tragedy of losing 45 lives all at once in a single incident would have affected not only the families and relatives of the victims but the entire nation. It is a national tragedy,” the government said.
The memorial service is expected to be held on Thursday in all of the country’s 10 districts.
In Gaborone, the memorial service would be held at the University of Botswana Indoor Sports Arena.
The victims died in South Africa after the bus they were in plunged some 50 metres off a bridge into a ravine.
The bus crashed through a barrier and caught fire when it hit the ground in South Africa’s north-eastern Limpopo province.
The passengers were pilgrims travelling from Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, to an Easter service in the town of Moria.
JN/APA