Harare, Zimbabwe - Fourteen Zimbabweans died and several others were injured at the weekend in a bus crash in South Africa, police and officials said Tuesday. The bus, carrying 55 passengers, took off from Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, and was enroute to South Africa's economic capital, Johannesburg.

The bus crashed near South Africa's northern town of Louis Trichardt, killing 13 instantly. Another passenger died later in hospital.

Police spokesman Maano Sadike said the driver lost control of the bus after it developed a mechanical fault while descending a mountain, sending the bus plunging down.

'The bus veered off the road and rolled for about 100 metres before hitting against a telephone pole and stopped while landing on its side.

'In the process, the bus' roof was removed and as a result 13 people died on the scene, including a female minor aged five years,' he said.

Pana 20/07/2011