An 8-year-old girl was the one survivor after a bus carrying 46 people on Thursday on a pilgrimage to South Africa over the Easter weekend fell 55 meters from a bridge right into a gorge and burst into flames, in response to the local department. transport.
The bus was traveling from Botswana to Moria, a non secular pilgrimage site in northeastern South Africa, when it went off a bridge snaking over the Mmamatlakala Pass after the driving force “lost control of the vehicle,” the department said in a press release.
Forty-five people died, including the driving force.
South Africa’s Limpopo provincial transport department said the girl received medical treatment at a close-by hospital statement. Another government statement shows that the kid’s condition is serious.
“Rescue operations continued into the late hours of Thursday evening as some bodies were burned beyond recognition, others were trapped in the rubble and others were scattered at the scene,” the transport department said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called his Botswana counterpart, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, to specific his condolences, the president’s office said in a press release late on Thursday.
The accident occurred in a scenic, mountainous area of winding roads and sweeping views about three and a half hours north of Johannesburg. The high viaduct road curved sharply over a gorge surrounded on either side by rocky, tree-covered slopes.
The area attracts heavy traffic on Easter weekend, where a pilgrimage takes place to Moriah, home of the Zion Christian Church, one among the most important in the country. Mr Ramaphosa took part in last yr’s pilgrimage, the primary for the reason that Covid-19 pandemic. South African border officers he said they were preparing for the influx of holiday makers for this yr’s pilgrimage.
The nationality of the victims has not yet been determined.
The tragedy occurred as South Africans were preparing for a four-day weekend with public holidays falling on Friday and Monday.
Around major holidays, South African authorities often take additional measures, akin to police roadblocks and promoting campaigns, to assist prevent road accidents. On Wednesday, South Africa’s (*45*) Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga launched an Easter road safety campaign, noting that road accidents often increase in the course of the holiday season.
“Easter is a time of celebration, but it is also a time when roads may be more dangerous due to increased traffic and holiday celebrations,” he added. The ministry warned.
According to data from Africa, in the past the road death rate was one among the very best in the world world Bank and World Health ORganisation.
In 2022, the newest yr for which statistics can be found, greater than 12,400 people died in South Africa. The South African Automobile Association has called road traffic deaths a “national crisis”. statement released last yr. The association argued that the federal government needed to speculate more in road safety and higher implement road traffic rules.
“If these two issues are not resolved, the terrible road safety situation in our country will never improve,” it said.
Russell Goldman reported from New York.
