EASTER TRAGEDY

8-Year-Old Girl Is Sole Survivor After Bus Plunge Kills 45 in South Africa

The vehicle crashed through a barrier, fell 165 feet, and burst into flames.

A bus carrying pilgrims from Botswana to an Easter service in South Africa plunged off a bridge, killing 45 people and leaving an 8-year-old girl as the sole survivor. The driver of the vehicle lost control and crashed through a barrier, sending the bus hurtling 165 feet down into a ravine, where it caught fire, the BBC reports. The tragic incident happened on a mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken, more than three hours from Johannesburg. Video showed the bus badly mangled in the ravine, and rescuers were reportedly having difficulty removing the dead. The child who survived had serious injuries, officials said. Just hours before the crash, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had appealed to holiday drivers to be careful. “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.