Bus plunges off South Africa bridge, killing 45
By Phelan Chatterjee
Forty-five people have died in South Africa after the bus they were in plunged some 50m (165ft) off a bridge into a ravine, authorities say.
An eight-year-old girl, the only survivor, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The bus crashed through a barrier and caught fire when it hit the ground in the north-eastern Limpopo province.
The passengers were pilgrims travelling from Botswana’s capital Gaborone to an Easter service in the town of Moria.
The vehicle lost control and went off a bridge on the Mmamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken, around 300km (190 miles) north of Johannesburg, according to South African public broadcaster SABC.
Rescue operations went on late into Thursday evening, with some of those killed reportedly hard to reach amid the debris.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, who went to the scene of the incident, extended her “heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the tragic bus crash”.
