CNN
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A head-on collision between a bus and a cash-transporting van killed 20 people on a highway in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province on Monday and sent dozens to hospitals, transport officials and emergency medical companies said.
After the crash, the bus tumbled off the N1 highway bridge and into a river below, said ER24, who had paramedics at the scene.
“Three people were found dead by the roadside and 16 by the river. All were declared dead on arrival,” ER24 said in a statement. “Of the 69 confirmed passengers who were taken to hospital for various injuries, one patient subsequently died,” it said.
The accident occurred around 5pm (1500 GMT) on Monday, when the bus was carrying passengers from the town of Makado to the province’s Bembe district, according to the Limpopo Transport Authority.
Police divers were dispatched to make sure no one was swept into the river, the ministry said in a statement.
ER24 said police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and that it was raining heavily in the area where the crash occurred.
A state police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
