---
title: "Horror Limpopo bus crash leaves 20 dead and dozens in hospital"
description: "A head-on collision between a bus and a cash-in-transit van has left a scene of death and devastation, according to transport and emergency medical officials."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "ROAD ACCIDENT"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-14-horror-limpopo-bus-crash-leaves-20-dead-and-dozens-in-hospital/"
published: "2023-02-14T15:46:30"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 239
---

# Horror Limpopo bus crash leaves 20 dead and dozens in hospital

> A head-on collision between a bus and a cash-in-transit van has left a scene of death and devastation, according to transport and emergency medical officials.

By Reuters · Published 14 February 2023, 17:46 SAST

## Key points
- At least 19 people have died and 68 injured after a bus crashed off the N1 freeway in Limpopo, South Africa. The bus was carrying passengers from Makhado to Vhembe district when it fell into a river below the bridge around 5pm on Monday. Heavy rains had fallen in the area, and police divers were searching the river for possible victims who may have been swept away. One patient has since died in hospital of various injuries sustained during the crash. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.
- Three people were found dead by the roadside and 16 down by the river below after a bus crash on the N1 freeway in Limpopo.
- 69 passengers were transported to hospital for various injuries, one of whom has since died.
- Police divers have been dispatched to verify that no one was swept away by the river.
- Heavy rains had fallen in the area where the crash happened and police are investigating the circumstances.

## Content

After the crash, the bus rolled from a bridge on the N1 freeway into a river below, said ER24, whose paramedics were on the scene.

“Three people were found deceased by the roadside and 16 down by the river — all were declared dead on arrival,” ER24 said in a statement. “One patient, of the 69 passengers confirmed transported to hospital for various injuries, has since died,” it said.

The Limpopo transport department said the crash happened around 5 pm on Monday and that the bus was carrying passengers from the town of Makhado to areas in the province’s Vhembe district.

![The wreckage of the bus that crashed near Mikhado on 14 October. (Photo: Twitter- @TheLegalSA)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/KP9g5dZ46fo2VbRyeGA_ELPxyj0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Bus-crash-legal-sa.jpeg)

*The wreckage following the Limpopo bus crash on 13 February 2023. (Photo: Twitter- @TheLegalSA)*

Police divers have been dispatched to verify that no one was swept away by the river, the department said in a statement.

ER24 said police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and that heavy rains had fallen in the area where it happened.

A provincial police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. **DM**

*(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)*

UPDATE: [BBC News reported](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64631711) that 68 people were injured. Quoting AFP news agency, it said that police divers were also searching the river that runs along the motorway "for people who might have been swept away". This region and others in South Africa have been suffering heavy downpours and flooding, prompting the government to declare a national disaster.