Bus plunges off bridge in South Africa, killing 45
Eight-year-old girl thought to be only survivor after vehicle crashes into ravine and bursts into flames
FORTY-FIVE people were killed in South Africa yesterday when a bus plunged off a bridge and into a ravine, the transport ministry said.
An eight-year-old girl was seriously injured in the incident and has been airlifted to hospital. She is believed to be the only survivor among the dozens of passengers.
The bus is believed to have been carrying Christians from Botswana, who were heading to a church in the town of Moria for Easter, when it drove off the Mmamatlakala bridge – in Limpopo province, around 190 miles north of Johannesburg – and burst into flames.
The group were travelling along the Kloof Pass, a mountainous stretch in the north of the country known for its tight, hairpin bends, state media reported.
Every Easter, worshippers of the Zion Christian Church, from South Africa and neighbouring countries, gather in the town for day-and-night prayers and celebrations.
The transport ministry said they believed the driver was rounding a bend when he lost control of the bus, which was towing a trailer reportedly loaded with paraffin and flammable materials. It landed in a ravine 40 metres below and burst into flames.
Authorities are investigating precisely how the crash occurred and are attempting to retrieve bodies tangled up in the wreckage.
Sindisiwe Chikunga, South Africa’s transport minister, visited the crash site and offered her “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the victims and to Botswana’s government.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time,” she said. “With heightened alertness, we continue to urge responsible driving at all times as more people are on our roads this Easter weekend.”
Ms Chikunga pledged that an inquiry would be held into the incident, adding: “We will try everything to assist so that they go back to their country and families to be buried with dignity.”
The emergency services were expected to work all night to retrieve the remains of the victims, whose bodies are said to have been burnt beyond recognition. Ms Chikunga suggested that DNA analysis might be necessary to identify the dead.
Some bodies were trapped in the debris of the bus, while others were scattered over the crash site. The treacherous nature of the ravine meant that the authorities were struggling to retrieve the bodies and would probably have to airlift them.
The identities of the dead have not been officially confirmed, but local media reported that they were pilgrims from Botswana. The bus had a Botswana licence plate, the authorities said, but the nationalities of the passengers were still being checked.
Images released by the transport ministry show the bus lying on its side, shattered by the impact of the fall. Its windows and roof appear to have caved in, while the shell of the trailer it was towing is visible in the distance.
Its paint appears to have been stripped away by the blaze as firemen, standing a little way away, hose it down.
Other images on social media, apparently taken from the bridge, show a fire raging from the crash site as black smoke billows into the sky.