Forty-five people died, and one 8-year-old girl survived after a bus crashed over a bridge in South Africa, the Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety wrote in aFacebook announcementThursday.
The Thursday mass casualty accident occurred on the Mma Matlakala Bridge between Marken and Mokopane in the northern province of Limpopo, South Africa about 200 miles north of Johannesburg.
The bus was transporting 45 passengers from Gaborone, Botswana, to a church in Moira, Limpopo Province, for Easter this coming weekend, per theSouth African Broadcasting Corporation. The vehicle was registered in the neighboring country. Currently, department officials are trying to confirm the victims’ citizenships.
“According to reports, the driver lost control, and the bus fell onto a rocky surface some 50 meters [164 feet] under the bridge and caught fire,” read the Facebook announcement.
Traffic Policing Affairs Limpopo/Facebook
Once the rescue teams responded, they discovered some of the victims’ bodies “were burned beyond recognition,” while other bodies were “trapped inside the debris and others scattered on the scene.”
Mmamatlakala Bridge.Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety/Facebook
Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety/Facebook
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“We want really to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families but also to the government of Botswana and to the people of Botswana and as South Africa we will try everything to assist so that they go back to their country and families to be buried with dignity,” said Minister Chikunga, per the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
source: people.com
