On Thursday, a bus bringing believers to an Easter event in South Africa crashed and burned, killing at least 45 people, according to authorities.
According to local authorities in the northern province of Limpopo, the only survivor is an 8-year-old who was seriously injured and was sent to a nearby hospital receiving hospital treatment.
The Limpopo provincial government stated that the bus went off the Mmamatlakala bridge and fell 50 metres (164 feet) into a ravine before bursting into flames. The regional authorities reported that search operations were still underway, but many unidentified people had been charred, while some were still trapped within the bus. Authorities suspect the bus was travelling from Botswana to Moria, a major Easter pilgrimage destination. They reported that the motorist appeared to have lost control and was among the fatalities.
Sindisiwe Chikunga, Minister of Transport, was in Limpopo province for a road safety campaign and changed his plans to visit the crash site, according to the National Department of Transport. She stated that an investigation was ongoing into the reason for the incident and expressed her condolences to the victims' families.The South African government frequently warns of the dangers of traffic accidents during the Easter holidays, which are a particularly busy and dangerous period for road travel. Over 200 individuals were killed in traffic accidents over the Easter weekend last year.
The Zionist Christian Church has its headquarters in Moria, and their Easter pilgrimage draws hundreds of thousands of people from all around South Africa and other countries. This year marks the first time the Easter pilgrimage to Moria will take place since the COVID-19 outbreak.
