The deceased girls were on their way to the annual Reed Dance Festival in Swaziland to dance topless for King Mswati III, after which he would select a new wife from among the dancers.
In a bizarre accident, as many as 65 teenage girls reportedly died in a bus accident while they were on their way to dance for an African king during the annual Reed Dance Festival.
The annual dance, which was supposed to take place on Monday, consists of thousands of topless teenage virgins dancing for Swaziland’s King Mswati III.
King Mswati III
Following the death of the girls, the king is under pressure to declare a two-day mourning for the girls and to cancel the annual Reed Dance Festival
As part of the festival, soon after the dance, the king can select a new wife from among the dancers if he so desires. King Mswati already has 15 wives.
According to the Swazi Observer, “…so serious was the accident that the tarmac was awash with blood, and critically injured imbali (maidens) were littered all over the place.”
The swaziland government has not yet released an official figure as to how many girls died in the accident.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) said in a statement, “We hope the families of the deceased girls willhold the royal family accountable for the deaths of their children.”
If the festival had taken place, as many as 80,000 young girls would have danced for King Mswati on Monday.
