Beitbridge – At least three Ethiopian nationals died on Thursday night while several others were injured when the vehicle they were travelling in burst into flames after ramming into a bridge near Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa, according to media reports monitored here.
The privately owned NewDay said a minibus was carrying about 13 undocumented Ethiopian migrants who were on their way to Beitbridge border post, from where they hoped to illegally enter South Africa.
The deceased died on the spot while two others were seriously injured and transferred to Bulawayo for treatment.
Six others were admitted under police guard at Beitbridge, while two who escaped with minor injuries were handed to the Beitbridge immigration office, the report said.
The porous Beitbridge border post is a popular transit route for people from Zimbabwe and other countries wishing to illegally cross into South Africa.
It is alleged that the undocumented migrants would bribe immigration and other officials from both sides of the border to guarantee their safe passage through the entry point.
In early January, South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi dismissed reports that there is a crisis at the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Motsoaledi, who conducted an oversight visit at the border has, however, raised concerns over illegal border crossings.
The minister said more than 700 people were arrested for entering the country illegally into South Africa that particular week, and he called on members of the public to stop circulating false information that caused unnecessary alarm and panic.
