Bus Crash Kills 24 People In South Africa; 2 Children Among Dead

A bus crash kills 24 people in De Doorns, South Africa on Friday, March 15. 

While driving back from a church service, a bus carrying over 60 people veered off of the road and flipped over, killing 24 of the passengers.

22 females and 2 males including the bus driver were killed when the bus overturned onto the side of a mountain. Authorities believe the driver was attempting to brake while driving down a sandy road, causing the bus to lose control and crash.

Rescue workers had to cut away parts of the body of the bus in order to get those trapped out of harms way. 24 people were killed, 8 were critically injured, 14 were wounded and 40 suffered minor injuries.

"We are recovering more bodies and the death toll may rise," Kenny Africa, the police traffic spokesman, told Reuters.

Reuters reports that the area of road the bus was driving down is notorious for accidents because it is straight and long and then comes to a sharp left turn. The long straight road allows for a vehicle like the bus that killed 24 people to pick up speed before needing to slow down at the turn.

Police are investigating the accident, trying to determine if it was just another accident or if there were other factors leading up to the deaths of 24 people. The bus crash happened Friday morning near a town just out side of Cape Town, South Africa.