South African bus crash kills 24

Twenty-four people have died after a bus in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province crashed over a cliff into a river.

Emergency officials earlier said 30 people had been killed in the crash, but they have since amended the death toll.

Emergency service spokesman Chris Botha said the bus landed upside down in the river after an 80-metre fall.

The recovery operation has faced difficulties due to the severity of the crash but emergency services were quick to the scene.

Police spokeswoman Zandra Wiid confirmed that emergency workers have searched the scene and out of the 80 passengers on board at least 32 are still badly injured inside the wreckage.

She said, "We believe there are people still trapped in the bus."

Emergency officials said the accident happened near Cedarville, close to the border with Lesotho.

About 10,000 die on South Africa's roads each year, making the country one of the world's most dangerous places to drive.

According to road safety group Arrive Alive, an estimated four in 100,000 people die in road accidents across Europe, compared to 25 in 100,000 in South Africa.

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