An accident as spectacular as it is dramatic. Almost all of the passengers on a bus, or 45 people, died in a serious road accident in South Africa on Thursday. The vehicle fell around fifty meters from the top of a bridge before crashing into the bottom of a ravine.
“The accident, involving a bus apparently transporting passengers from Botswana to Moria (north), left at least 45 dead and one seriously injured,” the Ministry of Transport announced in a statement.
A fall from a huge suspension bridge
“The driver apparently lost control of his vehicle, hitting the safety barriers on the bridge. The bus went over the bridge and hit the ground, where it caught fire,” the ministry said. The bus was carrying a total of 46 passengers including the driver. Only one person, an eight-year-old child, survived the crash, according to the provincial Department of Transportation. He was taken to hospital.
“Some bodies have been burned beyond recognition, others are trapped under debris and still others are scattered at the scene,” the department said in a statement, adding that rescue operations continued. until late in the evening.
An investigation into the causes of the accident
The accident occurred on a huge suspension bridge between two hills near Mmamatlakala in the Limpopo province (north), more than 300 km from Johannesburg. The bus had a Botswanan license plate, according to local authorities. The nationality of the passengers has not yet been confirmed. Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, who visited the site during the day, promised a thorough investigation into the causes of the accident.
South Africa has one of the most developed road networks on the continent but is among the worst performers in terms of road safety. Earlier in the day, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on South Africans to “do their best to ensure a safe Easter”. “Easter should not be a period where we wait for statistics of tragedies or injuries on our roads,” he urged in a press release a few hours before the accident.