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Johannesburg - The number of people who have been killed in two separate accidents in the Eastern Cape has risen to 46, the Department of Health said on Sunday.
Of the nine who had survived, five were still critical and four were still in a serious condition, spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said.
"We have done post-mortems on all the bodies. Tomorrow [Monday] families will identify the bodies," he said.
On Saturday, Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesperson Simon Zwane said 25 people were killed on the R408 between Idutywa and Willowvale when a bus driver lost control of the vehicle. The bus had overturned.
Eleven more people subsequently died. Emergency rescue personnel had arrived on the scene around 08:45 and removed the last body at 15:15, he said.
"The accident was very bad. There is one family that has lost four members, and another has lost three members."
A total of 16 men, 16 women and four children were killed. Most of the deceased suffered head injuries, Kupelo said.
On Sunday, the King of the Xhosa nation Mpendulo "Zwelonke" Sigcawu, Premier Phumulo Masualle, Health MEC Pumza Dyantyi and Transport MEC Weziwe Tikana visited the families of those killed in the bus crash for a prayer service.
Social workers were also at the prayer session, counselling the grieving families.
In a separate accident, nine people were killed when a minibus taxi overturned on the R61 between Cradock and Graaff Reinet. The taxi overturned on an embankment in the early hours of Saturday morning.
One critically injured person succumbed to their injuries in hospital, raising the death toll to 10, Kupelo said.
