- At least 45 people were killed on Thursday when a bus carrying believers from Botswana to an Easter church gathering in South Africa fell off a bridge.
- The accident occurred near Mokopane, South Africa, 195 miles north of Pretoria.
- The only survivor of the crash was an 8-year-old child.
At least 45 people were killed Thursday when a bus carrying worshipers on a long trip from Botswana to church in South Africa over the Easter weekend fell off a mountain pass bridge, hit the rocks below and burst into flames, authorities said. did. . The only survivor was an 8-year-old child who was being treated for serious injuries.
The Limpopo provincial government said the bus veered off the Mamatlakala Bridge in northern South Africa, plunging some 164 feet into a ravine and bursting into flames.
Search efforts continued, the state government said, but many bodies were burned beyond recognition and trapped inside the vehicle, while others were thrown from the bus.
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The accident occurred near the town of Mokopane, about 195 miles north of South Africa’s capital Pretoria.
At least 45 people were killed Thursday when a bus carrying worshipers on a long trip from Botswana to church in South Africa over the Easter weekend fell off a mountain pass bridge, hit the rocks below and burst into flames, authorities said. did. Said. The only survivor was an 8-year-old child who was being treated for serious injuries. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Hours after the crash, smoke began to leak from the destroyed and burning debris beneath the concrete bridge. Authorities said the driver appears to have lost control of the bus, causing it to crash into a barrier on the side of the bridge and then go over the edge of the bridge. The driver was also among the dead.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the victims, all believed to be from Botswana, were in Moria, Limpopo province, for the popular Easter weekend pilgrimage that draws hundreds of thousands of worshipers from South Africa and neighboring Zionist countries. He said he was on his way to town. Christian church.
In a statement from his office, Ramaphosa expressed his condolences by phone to Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi and said the South African government would do its best to support him.
State authorities said the bus had Botswana license plates.
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South Africa’s Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga was in Limpopo province to campaign for road safety, but after hearing the “tragic news” he changed his plans to visit the accident scene, the country’s Department of Transport announced. She said an investigation into the cause of the crash was underway and offered her condolences to the families of the victims.
The South African government frequently warns motorists to use caution during the Easter holidays, which can be a particularly busy and dangerous time. More than 200 people died in traffic accidents over Easter weekend last year.
The day before the bus accident, the South African government urged the public to be extra careful on Thursday and Friday due to expected heavy overland traffic to Moria.
Zion Christian Church’s headquarters are in Moria, and this year marks the first time that an Easter pilgrimage has been scheduled since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
