45 dead as bus plunges from bridge into ravine in South Africa

An eight-year-old child was the sole survivor after a bus carrying 46 people fell from a bridge in South Africa into a ravine and caught fire, reports the Guardian.

The child, who has not been named, was taken to hospital with serious injuries, the transport ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.

The passengers were pilgrims travelling from Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, to an Easter service in the town of Moria in the north of South Africa.

“It is alleged that the driver lost control, colliding with barriers on the bridge causing the bus to go over the bridge and hitting the ground, where it caught fire,” the government statement said.

Some bodies were burnt beyond recognition and others were trapped by the debris or scattered over the crash scene.

The bus had a Botswana licence plate, local authorities said, but the nationalities of the passengers were still being checked.

The transport minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga, went to the scene of the crash and said the South African government would help repatriate the bodies and conduct a full inquiry into the cause of the crash, the BBC reported.

Chikunga extended her “heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the tragic bus crash”. She said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

“We continue to urge responsible driving at all times with heightened alertness as more people are on our roads this Easter weekend.”

Although South Africa has one of Africa’s most developed road networks, it has one of the worst safety records.

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, sent his condolences to Botswana and pledged support to the country, his office said in a statement. Hours before the crash, he had appealed to South Africans to take care when travelling during the 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.

The bus fell from a bridge linking two hillsides near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo province, in the country’s north-east and about 190 miles (300km) north of Johannesburg.