JOHANNESBURG: A head-on collision between a tour bus and a cash-in-transit van left 20 people dead and 68 injured late on Monday on a major road in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province, an emergency medical care company said.

After the crash the tour bus rolled from a bridge on the N1 freeway into a river below, said ER24, whose paramedics were on the scene.

“Three people were found deceased by the roadside and 16 down by the river - all were declared dead on arrival,” ER24 said in a statement. “One patient, of the 69 passengers confirmed transported to hospital for various injuries, has since died,” it said. It was not immediately clear how many people the tour bus was carrying.

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ER24 said police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and that heavy rains had fallen in the area where it happened.