Tragedy struck a busload of worshippers heading to an Easter celebration in South Africa.
Authorities said a bus carrying 45 people from Botswana to the South African community of Moria on Thursday tumbled off the Mmamatlakala bridge and fell about 165 feet before it exploded in flames, according to Fox News.
The only survivor was an 8-year-old girl.
Moria is the community where the Zionist Christian Church is headquartered. Hundreds of thousands of people attend its Easter pilgrimage.
"What we suspect is that when the bus hit the barrier of the bridge, the child was ejected out of the bus, and that is how the child was able to survive," Colin Msibi, a spokesman for South Africa's Department of Transport, told the BBC.
Recovery operations ongoing after bus crash in South Africa leaves at least 45 dead pic.twitter.com/gG2jnAHvup
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 29, 2024
The girl was listed in serious condition at a nearby hospital, the Limpopo Province Department of Transportation said, according to The New York Times.
The Times said the accident took place “in a scenic, mountainous area of winding roads and sweeping vistas about three and a half hours north of Johannesburg. The road on a high overpass bent sharply over a ravine flanked on both sides by rocky, tree-covered slopes."
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga extended her "heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the tragic bus crash,” the BBC reported.
"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,” she said.
JUST IN: Horrific bus crash claims 45 lives
A bus that was transporting passengers from Gaborone, Botswana, to a church in Moira, Limpopo province in South Africa on Thursday for Easter this weekend had an accident on the Mma Matlakala Bridge between Marken and Mokopane, - pic.twitter.com/WQTT1DMPF0
— Eagle FM Namibia (@EagleFMNam) March 29, 2024
The road where the accident took place is "winding with sharp bends, hairpin bends, a road that I'd never advise any person who is driving a heavy vehicle such as a bus, such as a truck, to use," Chikunga said.
The BBC reported that because of the fire, only nine of the bodies found at the crash site were identifiable.
Prior to the crash, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had urged his country's drivers to "do our best to make this a safe Easter."
Easter should "not be a time where we sit back and wait to see statistics on tragedy or injuries on our roads," he said in astatement Thursday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has wished the nation a peaceful and safe #Easter period. https://t.co/p2KPovTq7V pic.twitter.com/qT8MN50FHZ
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) March 28, 2024
Fox News reported that last year, more than 200 people in South Africa died during crashes that took place over Easter weekend.
