At least 30 people were killed in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province today when a bus crashed over a cliff and into a river.

The vehicle landed upside down after an 80-metre (262 foot) fall, according to emergency service spokesman Chris Botha. Another 30 people remained trapped inside as paramedics worked to free them.

Emergency officials said the accident took place near Cedarville, close to the border with Lesotho. Reports vary as to how deeply the bus, which was carrying 80 people, was submerged, with one report saying it was only half-submerged but another that it was one-and-a-half metres below the water level.

Military helicopters, police divers and ambulance units from parts of the Eastern Cape were all at the scene.

Nokonwaba Kholisa, a police spokeswoman, said the bus had “lost control” after its brakes failed.

“The bus has still not been cut, maybe we can find other people inside,” said Kholisa.

Times Recommends

• Henning Mankell: ‘If Wallander was alive, I wouldn’t be a friend of his’
• Secret society's skull and crossbones for sale
• Nigerian leader vanishes after medical treatment