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Dozens drown in S. Africa

SAULSPOORT DAM (S. Africa): Police retrieved a bus containing the bodies of dozens of passengers who drowned when it plunged into a reservoir in South Africa on Thursday. Some bodies were found on the bus, and others were being pulled from the water by police divers. "We are still counting the bodies," said a police official. He said 44 bodies had been counted. The bus had been carrying some 90 women and men, members of South Africa's largest trade union, to a May Day workers celebration when the bus driver apparently lost his way and ended up driving down a gravel path that led to the dam. Several police vans ferried bodies from the scene and returned to collect more. Ten survivors were pulled from the dam outside Bethlehem, in the centre of the country. Hospital officials said the nine men and one woman who survived were treated and discharged. President, Thabo Mbeki, observed a minute of silence for the victims at a May Day rally. — AP

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