Twelve people were killed today when a South African bus veered out of control and overturned, the latest holiday accident on some of the most dangerous roads in the world.
Police said the bus packed with Christmas travellers lost control outside Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal province, overturning and smashing into the pillars of a bridge.
"The bus was badly smashed. The whole roof was crushed when it hit the pillars," police Superintendent Joshua Gwala told the SAPA news agency, saying the victims included three children.
At least 40 more people injured in the accident were taken to local hospitals, SAPA said. The highway -- a major artery between Johannesburg and the port city of Durban -- was closed to traffic for the rescue.
South Africa's roads are among the most dangerous in the world, and the annual Christmas holidays often see a spike in fatal accidents as holidaymakers pack highways.
Police and civic groups have vowed this year will be different and are mounting a major push to improve road safety to clean up the carnage before South Africa hosts the Soccer World Cup in 2010, when sports fans are expected to drive long distances
to reach matches in remote cities.
An average of almost 40 people have died in car crashes each day this month with accidents blamed on careless drivers, some drunk or sleep-deprived, in high traffic volumes and carrying more passengers than seatbelts.
Some 715 reported road deaths by mid-month was a slight improvement over the same period last year when 880 people died.
An estimated four in 100,000 people die in road accidents across Europe, compared to 25 per 100,000 in South Africa, according to Arrive Alive, which monitors road safety under the auspices of the national Transport Ministry.
The ministry has unveiled a plan to halve the number of fatalities from around 18,000 annually -- including pedestrians struck by vehicles -- in less than four years.
It plans to make polices armed with devices like speed guns and breathalysers more visible on the streets and help minibus taxi drivers replace ramshackle vehicles with newer models.
Police also reported that minibus taxi pulling a fully loaded trailer crashed outside of Pretoria late on Saturday, killing four people and critically injuring nine more.