The Limpopo Department of Health says it has received 34 bodies from the bus crash on the R518.
The bus was transporting people from Gaborone in Botswana to the Saint Engenas Zion Christian Church at Moria in Limpopo for the Easter service.
According to reports the driver lost control and collided with barriers on a bridge near Mamatlakala, causing the bus to go over the bridge and hit the ground, catching fire on Thursday.
Only nine bodies have been identified in the crash. Some bodies were burned beyond recognition while others were trapped inside or scattered on the scene.
Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba has confirmed that pathologists will on Tuesday start to conduct post-mortems on the bodies killed in the crash.
“We’ll start to proceed with the post-mortems as early as tomorrow. We are waiting for some family members who will come and assist us. But as the situation stands, all the remains will be subjected to DNA tests. Already we can indicate that that particular process has already been initiated with our Botswana counterparts who are in constant communication with our team,” said Ramathuba
According to Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, there was only one survivor, an 8-year-old girl, who is in hospital.
Lorraine Atlang Siako (8), is a Grade 6 pupil at Bonewamang Primary in Botswana. The trip to Moria was her first.
Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) Spokesperson Simon Zwane said the investigation into the cause of the bus crash is still at preliminary stage.
RTMC, “We expect that it will take couple more days before any conclusion can be reached, because part of it will have evolved a mechanical investigation on the bus itself. We also have to check if there are any clues that can be obtained from that and that can take a couple of days before we can get an idea of what really happened,” said Zwane
Botswana authorities are still engaging their South African counterparts on the repatriation of the bodies.