Lerato Mbhiza
A bus has plunged off a bridge into a ravine in Limpopo Province, killing 45 of the 46 passengers on board, according to the Department of Transport.
The bus fell from a major bridge linking two hillsides near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo province, around 300 kilometers north of Johannesburg .
The only survivor of the accident, an eight-year-old girl, was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after the crash on Thursday.
The bus had been coming from neighboring Botswana and heading to Moria in Limpopo, said the Minister of Transport in a statement
“It is alleged that the driver lost control, colliding with barriers on the bridge causing the bus to go over the bridge and hit the ground, where it caught fire,” the statement said.
Rescue operations had continued till late with some bodies burned beyond recognition, and others trapped inside the debris or scattered over the crash scene.
The bus had a Botswana license plate, local authorities said, but the nationalities of the passengers were still being checked.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga went to the scene of the crash and promised a full inquiry would be held into its cause.
Just several hours before the crash, President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed to South Africans to take care when traveling during Easter week.
“Let’s do our best to make this a safe Easter. Easter does not have to be a time where we sit back and wait to see statistics on tragedy or injuries on our roads,” he said in a statement.
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