The long weekend ends in tragedy for Wits University, as seven students die in horrific crash

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By Ayanda Mgede and Olwethu Boso

Seven Wits students have died in a road accident that happened last night on the N1 highway on their way from Limpopo.

The students were travelling on their way back from a prayer meeting in Limpopo when their minibus crashed into a trailer of an overturned truck, said Wits spokesperson Shirona Patel.

The affected Wits students were thirteen in total and six of them are being treated at the Voortrekker and Mokopane hospitals.

A staff nurse at the Mokopane hospital confirmed to Wits Vuvuzela that three female students were admitted at 12:26am on Monday morning. Two of the students have dislocated hip and leg injuries whilst the one was said to have a fractured hip.

Voortrekker hospital said that they admitted one male student and the other female patient was discharged this morning.

The spokesperson of the Limpopo department of transport, Kagiso Mootane, said that a case of culpable homicide has been opened. The case has been handed over to the Limpopo SA Police Service for further investigations.

Vice Chancellor Adam Habib along with the dean of students and a few SRC members have gone to Limpopo in response to the accident. Patel said that the delegated team was there to identify the deceased and offer support to the next of kin.