Dozens of worshipers tragically lost their lives when a bus en route to an Easter conference crashed in South Africa’s Limpopo province on Thursday, marking another devastating incident in a country grappling with a series of recent road accidents resulting in multiple casualties.
According to reports from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the accident claimed the lives of 45 individuals, while an eight-year-old girl emerged as the sole survivor, airlifted to a hospital with severe injuries.
The passengers aboard the bus were pilgrims journeying from Gaborone, the capital of neighboring Botswana, to attend an Easter conference at the Zion Christian Church in Moria town.
The accident occurred in the Mamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken, with the bus reportedly catching fire after crashing through barriers and plummeting off a bridge. Investigations into the cause of the crash are currently underway.
In an official statement, the province’s transport department indicated that initial reports suggested the driver lost control, causing the bus to fall onto a rocky surface approximately 50 meters below the bridge before igniting in flames.
Efforts to recover the bodies of the deceased are ongoing, with authorities facing challenges such as bodies being burned beyond recognition and trapped within the debris or scattered across the crash site. So far, only 12 bodies have been retrieved from the scene.
Florence Radzilani, a member of the province’s Executive Council for Transport and Community Safety, described the scene as dire when she arrived, noting the severity of the situation.
Officials have arranged transportation for some relatives to visit the crash site on Friday, followed by visits to the hospital to check on the sole survivor. Recovery efforts have continued through the night and into Friday morning.
South Africa’s Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga pledged to repatriate the victims’ bodies to Botswana, extending heartfelt condolences to the affected families and emphasizing the importance of responsible driving, especially during the heightened traffic of the Easter weekend.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also expressed condolences to Botswana’s government and the families and friends of the victims, acknowledging the gravity of the tragedy.
