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Cape Town - Only nine of the 44 people inside a bus that drove off a cliff on the R408, between Butterworth and Willovale, on Saturday have survived the horror accident.
Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesperson Simon Zwane said the initial tally of 25 fatalities has since increased after all of the passengers trapped inside the bus had been removed.
“Thirty-five people have died, four of them children,” he confirmed.
“The police are in the process of informing the families of the deceased.”
Eight sustained moderate injuries and one was seriously hurt when the vehicle overturned earlier this morning.
It is understood that the passengers were being transported from a nearby rural area to town.
Investigators are still at the scene and will be until Sunday, Zwane said.
The bus was removed from the cliff and taken to East London for forensic analysis, he added.
