Forty-two Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals have died after a bus taking them home overturned on a South African road, authorities have said.
The crash happened on Sunday night as the bus was moving through a mountainous section of the N1 highway in South Africa's Limpopo province, local transport officials said.
It veered off the road along a steep mountain pass and plunged down an embankment, they added.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa mourned the high death toll, which includes seven children, stating that this was not only a tragedy for the country but for our sister states of Zimbabwe and Malawi as well.
The cause of the accident is unknown but an investigation has been launched. Reports indicate that the bus was travelling from the city of Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape. The exact number of passengers on the bus at the time of the crash is still unclear.
Alongside the seven children, the fatality count includes 18 women and 17 men, while 49 others sustained injuries. Government officials, including Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, are set to visit the crash site and the injured passengers.
