South Africa bus crash kills 20 children

The minibus collided with a lorry on a road between the towns of Bronkhorstspruit and Verena, about 70 kilometres from the capital Pretoria.

Emergency services at the scene of a bus crash that left 20 school children dead near Pretoria, South Africa, on April 21, 2017. A lorry truck crashed into the bus carrying school children home,. TheShow more

JOHANNESBURG // At least 20 children were killed in a bus crash outside the South African capital Pretoria on Friday.

The minibus collided with a lorry on a road between the towns of Bronkhorstspruit and Verena, about 70 kilometres from Pretoria.

“It is confirmed 20 children have been killed,” said Russel Meiring, spokesman for the ER24 emergency medical service. “Paramedics arrived on the scene to find the fire services already in attendance. The fire services had already extinguished the burning vehicle, which was found lying on its side.”

Many children were trapped inside the bus and most of the fatalities were declared dead at the site of the accident.

Several other children were injured, with reports that some of them were dragged from the wreckage by people at the scene.

“The children were treated for their injuries and provided with advanced life support interventions before they were transported to various hospitals in the area for further treatment,” ER24 said in a statement.

The cause of the collision was not immediately known.

* Agence France-Presse