Horror bus crash leaves 45 dead and child, eight, as the sole survivor after South African coach drove off a bridge in before bursting into flames

A bus crash in South Africa leaves 45 dead and only one survivor: an eight-year-old child who is being treated in hospital.

South Africa’s Department of Transport said the driver lost control and collided with barriers on a bridge near Mamatlakala in northeastern Limpopo province.

According to reports, the bus then crashed over the bridge onto a rocky surface about 50 meters below before bursting into flames.

The passenger bus was transporting people from Botswana, a landlocked country in southern Africa, to Moria, a town in Limpopo, for a church service over the Easter weekend.

Rescue operations continued late into the evening, with some bodies burned beyond recognition while others were trapped in the rubble and scattered across the scene, the Limpopo Department of Transport said.

Photos show the wreckage of the bus engulfed in flames after it plunged from the bridge

Black smoke engulfed the passenger bus and firefighters were photographed at the scene