Lots of worshippers were reportedly died after a bus headed to an Easter conference plunged off a cliff in South Africa’s Limpopo province on Thursday 28th March.
The ugly incident claimed lives of nothing less than 45 worshippers and one is seriously injured, as disclosed by the country’s transport department.
According to South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the only survivor of the crash is an eight-year-old girl who was immediately airlifted to hospital.
It was gathered that the passengers were pilgrims traveling from Gaborone – the capital city of neighboring country Botswana – to a church for an Easter conference.
The accident occured in the Mamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken. The bus reportedly caught fire after falling.
However, the cause of the crash is under investigation.
In a press statement released by the province’s transport department, “the driver lost control and the bus fell onto a rocky surface, some 50 meters under the bridge and caught fire.”
*Efforts are ongoing to recover the bodies of the passengers who died”.
“Some bodies burned beyond recognition,” the local department said.
Others are “trapped inside the debris and others [are] scattered on the scene,” it added.
Sindisiwe Chikunga, South African Transport Minister, said the government would repatriate the bodies to Botswana.
“I am sending my heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the tragic bus crash near Mamatlakala. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. We continue to urge responsible driving at all times with heightened alertness as more people are on our roads this Easter weekend,”
