Global General

S.Africa bus accident claims 24 lives

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-05 15:33
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CAPE TOWN - Twenty four South Africans, including children, were killed when the bus they were travelling in overturned in Cape Province, traffic officials said on Wednesday.

The single-decker bus, registered in the Eastern Cape to a private owner, was en-route to Cape Town when the accident occured on the N1 highway between De Doorns and Touws River in the Western Cape province.

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Part of that stretch of road is referred to as the "road of death" due to its high fatality rate.

South Africa, which host the 2010 Soccer World Cup in June, has spent billions of rands to upgrade roads and an ageing public transport sector, as well as improve road safety.

"It is believed the driver lost control of the vehicle and then it overturned and rolled," Xenophone Wentzel, provincial traffic spokesman told Reuters.