Dozen of worshippers have died after a bus lost control and plunged off a bridge in South Africa, according to the country's Department of Transport.
A statement released by the Department of Transport and Community Safety said that 45 people had died as they were travelling to Moria, from South Africa's Limpopo province.
It is believed those travelling were en route for an Easter service, CNN reports.
According to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the passengers were pilgrims from neighbouring Botswana.
The Department of Transport and Community Safety said the driver reportedly "lost control, and the bus fell onto a rocky surface some 50-metres under the bridge and caught fire."
Reports say there were 48 people on board the bus, including the driver. It is confirmed 45 passengers died, and the only child to survive, an 8-year-old girl, was airlifted to the hospital.
It is not known how many children were on board.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga went to the crash site and spoke on the tragedy, according to SABC.
"A bus that was pulling a trailer went over the bridge down into the rocky river. [The bus] had about 45 occupants, only one eight-year-old girl survived. She was transported to the hospital. [Another passenger] was airlifted and [did] not make it."
Chikunga confirmed the bodies would be repatriated back to Botswana, however some of the bodies were badly burnt in the crash.
The South African government often warns of the danger of road accidents during the Easter holidays, which is a particularly busy and dangerous time for road travel.
More than 200 people died in road crashes during the Easter weekend last year.
The Zionist Christian Church has its headquarters in Moria and its Easter pilgrimage attracts hundreds of thousands of people from across South Africa and neighboring countries. This year is the first time the Easter pilgrimage to Moria is set to go ahead since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
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