The driver of the bus that crashed on the N1 south in Limpopo killing nine people on Friday has been arrested while allegedly trying to cross the border to Zimbabwe, provincial police said on Monday.

Police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the driver was allegedly caught hidden inside a goods trailer trying to illegally cross the border to Zimbabwe.

Shortly after the accident, the driver was taken to hospital with 51 other injured passengers for medical treatment.

“As the process of intensive investigations by the police was unfolding, especially on the possible cause of that accident, he then disappeared following his discharge from hospital and fled towards the Beitbridge port of entry,” said Ngoepe.

He will appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on nine counts of culpable homicide.

There was a possibility of additional charges at a later stage, according to Ngoepe.

Ngoepe said it was alleged that the bus was travelling from the direction of Polokwane towards the Gauteng province when the driver lost control and it overturned.

The bus was carrying 61 occupants including the driver and the crew.

“Nine out of the 61 people were certified dead at the scene, the other injured people including the driver were taken to different hospitals for medical treatment,” said Ngoepe.

The identification process of all the deceased was still unfolding, according to Ngoepe.