At least 42 migrant workers killed in bus crash in South Africa

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- At least 42 people, including seven children, were killed after a bus in a northern region of South Africa left the road as it was driving over a steep mountain pass and plunged into a ravine.

The crash occurred in Limpopo Province on Sunday night on the N1 highway about 250 miles north of Pretoria, the capital, according to traffic authorities who stressed the casualty figures were not final and could be revised.

An unknown number of injured people in the crash were taken to area hospitals.

Official photos showed an overturned bus with its roof crushed.

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Most of those killed were Zimbabwean and Malawian migrant workers traveling back to their home countries. Further details were yet to be released, apart from that it was known the bus was on a long-distance route from Port Elizabeth in South Africa's Eastern Cape region, more than 930 miles to the south.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the tragic loss of life was a disaster for the country as well as "our sister states of Zimbabwe and Malawi."

In June, a bus carrying supporters of South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters party home from a rally in Kwa-Zulu Natal crashed in Vryheid, 185 miles north of Durban, killing at least 12 people on board.

South African roads are among the most dangerous in the world, with 10,180 fatal crashes that killed 11,883 drivers and passengers and 5,360 pedestrians, a mortality rate of about 20 per 100,000 head of population, according to a report published in the scientific journal, South African Family Practice.

Approximately 21% of the accidents involved hit-and-run incidents. Other major contributing factors included speeding, distraction, alcohol or other substances, inadequate law enforcement, unroadworthy vehicles, poor road conditions and maintenance, and lack of road safety awareness among pedestrians.

South Africa's legal "town/city" speed limit of a little over 37 mph, compared with 25 mph in the United States and 19-31 mph across most of Europe, was also cited as a factor raising the risk of death or serious injury.