8-year-old child sole survivor as 45 killed in horror bus crash in South Africa

A horror bus crash killing 45 people has had just one survivor - an eight-year-old child.

The shocking crash saw a bus fly off a bridge in Mamatlakala, Limpopo, South Africa on Thursday. Reports claim that the bus lost control on a bridge, falling 50 metres over the side onto a mound of rocks and exploding into a fireball.

The Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety confirmed that 45 people had died, leaving just one young person as the sole survivor. In a grim update, officials also said that some of the bodies of the victims were "burned beyond recognition" while they also said that several bodies were "scattered" around the scene of the accident.

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According to local news outlets, it is thought that the bus was taking people from Botswana to the town of Moria in northern South Africa for an Easter church service.

A spokesman for the LDTCS said: "The bus had a total of 46 people on board, including the driver. It has a Botswana registration number, and a process to confirm the citizenship of the victims will only commence after the foreign missions of both South Africa and Botswana had verified their citizenships.

"According to reports, the driver lost control, colliding with barriers on the bridge causing the bus to go over the bridge and hitting the ground, where it caught fire.

"Rescue operations continued until the late hours of Thursday evening, as some bodies were burned beyond recognition, others trapped inside the debris and others scattered around the scene."

The identity of the youngster has not been made public, and it is thought that he was taken to hospital for treatment after being assessed at the scene. As of Thursday night, no update on their condition has been given.

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