45 killed and one survivor after S Africa’s bus crash

CAPE TOWN, Mar 29 (Al Jazeera): A bus has plunged off a bridge into a ravine in South Africa, killing 45 of the 46 passengers on board, according to the Department of Transport.

The only survivor, an eight-year-old girl, was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after the crash on Thursday.

The bus wreckage at the bottom of the ravine. It is grey and smouldering.

Authorities said the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed through the barriers on a bridge in a mountainous area near Mamatlakala, 300 kilometres (190 miles) north of Johannesburg. The bus plunged 50 metres (164 feet) into a ravine before bursting into flames.

The bus was on its way from neighbouring Botswana to Moria, a town in northern Limpopo province that holds a popular Easter festival. Easter Sunday falls on March 31 this year.

Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga travelled to the scene of the crash and promised a full inquiry.