The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) in Mpumalanga extends its deepest condolences to the families of learners that passed away in Belfast due to a collision between the bus transporting them and a train on Wednesday afternoon.

The learners from Morelig Combined School were on their way home when the 75-seater bus they were travelling in collided with a train at a level crossing near Arnot Station on Old Belfast Road. Out of the 26 learners in the bus, five died at the scene and one in hospital. Twenty learners were rushed to hospitals in Middelburg, Witbank, and Belfast and four have since been discharged.

Our thoughts are with the families as they come to terms with the loss of their children. We wish the injured learners speedy recovery.

We are heartened by the support the school received from Health, Education and Social Development departments, security services and local government officials who visited the school this morning. We call on these departments to extend the support to the families of the affected learners as well.

We call for a thorough investigation on the cause of the accident and for steps to be taken to prevent future incidents that result in deaths of learners while commuting to and from schools.