Durban - Three people have been killed and 70 injured in a bus crash in Durban on Monday.
Robert McKenzie, spokesman for the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Emergency Medical Service, said that the crash happened on Higginson Highway (M1) in the Savannah Park area of Chatsworth.
Initially it had been reported that four people had been killed in the crash, but McKenzie confirmed that the death toll stood at three.
Mckenzie said that a further seven people were critically injured in the crash, while 16 were described as being in a serious condition.
In total, 70 people were treated by paramedics at the crash scene.
"Many others had minor injuries and left the scene privately," he said.
Firefighters from the eThekwini Metro Fire Brigade had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate some of the injured.
The west bound lane in the direction of Pinetown was closed to traffic as rescue crews worked on the scene.
Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said: "Reports from the scene indicate that the bus was travelling towards Pinetown when it veered off the road in the wet weather, smashed through the Armco barriers and overturned."
Botha said that crews secured the bus to prevent it from going further down the embankment while rescue operations were underway.
ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak said that an emergency helicopter had been called to airlift one of the critically injured. He said that one of the deceased was found as crews attempted to move the bus in a bid to extricate two other deceased.
He said two of the dead were women and one was a man. It was not clear as to what the status of the driver was.
In a statement, KZN health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo, praised emergency services for their efforts.
He said that an Emergency Wing Services Helicopter, as well as 15 ambulances and Forensic Pathology Mortuary vehicles were dispatched to the accident scene.
Police were on scene and would be investigating the accident.