A bus carrying worshippers on a long-distance adventure from Botswana to an Easter weekend in South Africa fell off a bridge over a mountain pass on Thursday and burst into flames as it hit the rocky ground, killing at least 45 people, the government said. saying. .
The only survivor is an eight-year-old boy who is receiving medical attention for serious injuries.
The provincial of Limpopo said the bus left the bridge in Mmamatlakala, northern South Africa, and plunged 50 meters into a ravine before catching fire.
Search operations were underway, the provincial government said, but many bodies were burned to such an extent that they were trapped in the vehicle, while others were ejected from the bus.
The twist of fate occurred near the town of Mokopane, about two hundred kilometers north of the South African capital, Pretoria.
A few hours after the accident, smoke billowed from the mutilated and burned wreckage beneath the concrete bridge. Authorities said it gave the impression the driver had lost and the bus crashed into barriers along the bridge and then crossed the edge. The driver was among the dead.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said all the sick appeared to be from Botswana and were heading to the town of Moria in Limpopo for a popular Easter weekend pilgrimage that draws thousands of worshippers from South Africa and neighboring countries. to Zion. Christian Church.
Ramaphosa phoned Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi to offer his condolences and said the South African government would do everything it could to help, according to a statement from Ramaphosa’s office.
Provincial government, the bus had Botswana license plates.
South Africa’s Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga went to Limpopo province for a road protection crusade and replaced his plan to stop at the crash site after hearing “devastating news”, the Ministry of National Transport said. He said an investigation is underway into the cause of the twist of fate. and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
The South African government is warning motorists to be careful during the Easter holidays, a particularly busy and dangerous time for road trips. More than two hundred people died from road injuries over the Easter weekend last year.
The Christian Church of Zion is based in Moria and this year marks the first time its Easter pilgrimage has been held since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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