A tragic bus accident on Sunday in South Africa's Limpopo Province resulted in the deaths of 20 workers from the diamond mining firm De Beers.
The vehicle was on its way to the Venetia diamond mine.
Limpopo Province's Transport Department spokesperson Vongani Chauke was quoted by AFP as saying that the accident took place in the town of Musina, which is near the Zimbabwean border.
“The bus collided with a truck,” said the spokesperson.
De Beers had been mining at Venetia Mine for over 30 years.
It employs around 4,300 people, many of whom live in nearby communities, and accounts for 40% of South Africa's annual diamond production.
Once the country's largest open-pit mine, the area has changed to address the dearth of diamonds.
Open pit mining at Venetia was shut down at the end of last year after De Beers committed $2 billion to a massive underground mining project.
The miner announced in July that it had begun extracting diamonds from underground mines dug under the old open-air mine.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
