AT least four people are dead and 31 injured after a horror bus crash on South African highway, with terrified passengers still trapped as rescuers battle to reach them.

The bus was travelling from Gauteng to Zimbabwe when it lost control and swerved into a ditch in Limpopo province, close to the border.

Damaged bus wreckage at night.Four people have died and 31 are injured after a bus crashed in Limpopo province
 
Overturned truck on a grassy incline in Makhado, LP, with a tow truck nearby.The bus was travelling from Gauteng to Zimbabwe when it swerved into a ditch
Provincial transport minister Violet Mathye said the scale of Thursday’s tragedy is still unfolding.

Mathye told public broadcaster South African Broadcasting Corporation: “So far we have confirmation of four fatalities, while some other people have been transported to hospital.

“We will give other numbers as we get them.”

The wrecked bus was still lying in the ditch with passengers inside as emergency crews worked frantically at the scene.

The crash happened on the N1 near Makhado, close to Ingwe Lodge.

It is the same stretch of road that was the scene of a devastating bus disaster in October that killed 42 people.

Authorities have yet to confirm what caused Thursday’s smash.

The Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety said in a statement that the cause is unknown and will be investigated.

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The busy N1-29 route has been completely shut in both directions as rescue and recovery operations continue.

Motorists have been urged to steer clear and use alternative routes via the R523 Nzhelele Road.

With the bus still wedged in the ditch and the full passenger list unclear, officials say the death toll could change.

It comes after a schoolkid was among 11 people killed in a devastating crash when a truck ploughed into a minibus taxi in South Africa.

The horror smash came just days after 14 children lost their lives in another minibus collision elsewhere in the country.

The crash happened near Durban, in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Witnesses claimed the truck driver made a sudden U-turn, leading to a head-on collision with the minibus.

Road safety is a growing crisis across Africa, where crashes are estimated to claim around 300,000 lives every year.

That figure represents roughly a quarter of all road deaths worldwide.

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The continent has the highest road traffic fatality rate on the planet – 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people – compared with a global average of about 18, according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

And this is despite Africa’s 1.5 billion population making up only around three per cent of the world’s vehicles.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/15970476/horror-bus-crash-south-africa/