By MICHELLE GUMEDE and GERALD IMRAY

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A bus veered off a road and plunged down an embankment on a steep mountain pass in northern South Africa, killing at least 42 people and leaving another 49 passengers injured, authorities said Monday.

The crash happened around 6 p.m. Sunday on the N1 highway near the town of Louis Trichardt, around 248 miles north of the capital, Pretoria.

The Transport Ministry said in a statement that the victims included seven children, 17 men and 18 women. It said six people were critically injured and another 31 had serious injuries and had been taken to several hospitals. One critically injured child was airlifted to a hospital, the ministry said.

Images released by authorities showed the blue bus lying upside down in the embankment with res

See Full Page