Bus plunges off bridge in South Africa, killing 45 passengers

A bus has plunged off a bridge into a ravine and caught fire in South Africa, killing 45 of the 46 people on board, the Transport Ministry said.

An eight-year-old child was the sole survivor of the Thursday's disaster and had been taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The bus fell from a major bridge linking two hillsides near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo province, around 300 kilometres north of Johannesburg.

The ministry said in a statement that the vehicle had been heading from neighbouring Botswana to Moria in the north of the country.

"It is alleged that the driver lost control, colliding with barriers on the bridge, causing the bus to go over the bridge and hit the ground, where it caught fire," the statement said.

The bus had a Botswana licence plate, local authorities said, but the nationalities of the passengers were still being checked.

Rescue operations continued until the late hours of Thursday evening, as some bodies were burned beyond recognition, others trapped inside the debris and scattered on the scene, Limpopo's Department of Transport said in a separate statement.

Developed roads, bad safety

Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga went to the scene of the crash and promised a full inquiry would be held into its cause.

While South Africa has one of the African continent's most developed road networks, it also suffers from one of the worst safety records.

Just several hours before the crash, President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed to South Africans to take care of themselves when travelling during the Easter week.

"Let's do our best to make this a safe Easter. Easter does not have to be a time where we sit back and wait to see statistics on tragedy or injuries on our roads," he said in a statement.