It has been an Easter of miracles as another young child survived a deadly crash that killed half of his family.
The accident happened on Ritchershoek road near KaMhlushwa in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga on Thursday afternoon — the same day as the Limpopo accident in which 45 people died leaving an eight-year-old child as the sole survivor.
A video shared on social media shows paramedics rescuing the infant who was stuck among branches high up on a tree.
After some gentle coaxing, rescue workers managed to bring the crying baby down from the tree and attend to his wounds.
He had suffered a few cuts and scrapes to his face.
The paramedics are then seen heading back into the dense bushes to assist the mother, who was still in the car.
Mpumalanga community safety, security and liaison spokesperson Moeti Mmusi confirmed the incident.
“A vehicle overturned and rolled but we don't know how the baby ended up in the tree. But ... the child's father and his sibling, aged three, were killed at the scene while the mother sustained injuries.
Mmusi praised the efforts by emergency services personnel in rescuing the baby, saying that “this is an extraordinary story”.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Limpopo health MEC Phophi Ramathuba bid farewell to the eight-year-old survivor of the horrific crash in the province last week.
The girl survived the accident on Mmamatlakala Bridge on the R518 that claimed the lives of 45 Easter pilgrims as they were heading to St Engenas Zion Christian Church in Moria.
The travellers were from Botswana.
Speaking to the media shortly after the girl's discharge, Ramathuba said they were yet to establish exactly what happened to the child, but she said the child remembered being flung out of the window before the bus went down the bridge.
Ramathuba said it was probable that the girl was thrown out of the bus by her grandmother moments before it plunged from the bridge where it crashed and burst into flames.
The child, Ramathuba said, sustained a few injuries but had managed to flag down a car before she lost consciousness.
