JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and 32 others injured after a passenger bus lost control on the N1 highway and plunged into a roadside ditch near Makhado in South Africa's Limpopo Province early Thursday morning, local authorities said.
Limpopo's Transport and Community Safety Department said in a statement that the accident occurred at around 2:50 a.m. local time (0050 GMT).
The victims included the male driver, one female passenger, and three male passengers. Among the injured, four sustained serious injuries, 10 were critically hurt, and 18 suffered minor injuries. All injured passengers were transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment, the department said.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the driver may have lost control of the vehicle, and a further probe to determine the exact cause of the crash is underway, said the department.
According to local media reports, the bus was traveling from Gauteng Province to Zimbabwe.
South Africa has in recent months recorded a series of deadly bus crashes. On Oct. 12, 2025, an overloaded passenger bus traveling from Eastern Cape Province to a neighboring country overturned in Limpopo Province, killing 43 people, including seven children.
Authorities blame the recent road accidents on driver fatigue, speeding, drunk driving, unsafe pedestrian conduct, and poor vehicle conditions. ■