In South Africa, a bus carrying pilgrims to an Easter festival crashed into a bridge and fell into a ravine, killing everyone except for an 8-year-old girl. The incident occurred on a mountain pass and the bus caught fire after the crash.
During Easter in South Africa, the roads become very dangerous, as millions of people travel across the country. Authorities had warned about the risks, but a tragic accident still occurred, resulting in the death of 45 people.
A bus carrying worshippers from Botswana went off a bridge and caught fire, leading to the death of 45 people. However, an 8-year-old girl managed to survive.
An official from the local health department stated that the girl, who sustained serious injuries, is in stable condition and receiving proper care at the hospital.
Investigators were able to recover 34 bodies from the crash site, but identifying the exact number of victims was difficult due to the severity of the incident. Many of the victims were badly burned and could not be recognized.
According to Dr. Phophi Ramathuba, only nine of the bodies could be identified out of those recovered from the crash.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that the victims, believed to be from Botswana, were on their way to Moria in Limpopo province for an Easter pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is a major event for the Zion Christian Church and attracts hundreds of thousands of followers.
The Zion Christian Church's headquarters in Moria hosted the full Easter pilgrimage for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The church has a large following and Moria features symbolic landmarks of the church.
The Zion Christian Church, founded in South Africa in the early 1900s, is a Christian denomination with traditional African influences and approximately 7 million followers in the southern African region.
Authorities in South Africa requested assistance from church leaders in Botswana to help identify the victims of the bus accident.
Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays in South Africa, leading to a large number of people traveling for various reasons, including religious pilgrimages. However, road travel during this time can be dangerous, as demonstrated by the high number of road crash fatalities reported by the Road Traffic Management Corporation.
The bus driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, causing it to hit the bridge barriers and plunge over the edge. The driver was among the casualties.
It was reported that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle, resulting in it crashing into the bridge barriers and falling over the edge. The driver did not survive the accident.
The national Department of Traffic reported that while South African Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga was at a road safety campaign in Limpopo province, she was told about the crash, which she described as “devastating news.”
Ramathuba mentioned that she had been at an Easter prayer meeting when she received a call about the crash on the Mmamatlakala bridge near the town of Mokopane, which is approximately 125 miles north of Pretoria.
Ramathuba informed reporters that she visited the accident site and is now focusing on the young survivor, who is being cared for by experts in a hospital. She chose not to disclose the child’s injuries, but a photo of the child in a hospital bed being examined by a doctor was released by authorities.
Ramathuba also chose not to reveal whether the child’s parents or other family members were on the bus, stating that authorities needed time to locate and inform the families of the deceased, most of whom were from Botswana.
Meanwhile, forensic investigators worked at the scene to search through the wreckage among the rocks and steep cliffs. It is believed that at least 11 bodies remain inside the charred bus, which was nearly flattened.
Simone Mayema, a local resident, described being one of the first to arrive after the crash. Mayema and others attempted to assist, but were hindered by the flames that occurred.
