In a collision between a bus and an armored van in South Africa, 20 people were killed and around 60 others were injured, the transport department of the Limpopo province (north) said on Tuesday.
“Twenty people were tragically killed in an accident when an armored vehicle lost control and collided head-on with an oncoming bus,” the Department for Transport said in a statement.
The accident happened around 3pm GMT on Monday on a national road in Limpopo, a province in the far north of the country, on the border with Zimbabwe.
About 60 people were injured, 10 of them seriously. They were taken to the hospital.
A police dive team is currently looking in a river below the road for “people who may have been swept away by the water masses”.
The cause of the violent accident is not yet clear, but “the region was hit by heavy rains,” Transport Ministry spokesman Tidimalo Chuene told AFP.
South Africa has been hit by rain for several days, which has caused flooding in several provinces. At least seven people were killed and several are missing. The government has declared a state of national disaster.
According to the National Institute for Weather Forecasts, which warns of new flood hazards, it must still rain for several days in the middle of southern summer.
In 2022, the country experienced the worst flooding in its history in the Durban region (southeast), killing more than 400 people and causing extensive destruction.
South Africa has one of the most extensive road networks on the continent, but is one of the worst in terms of road safety.