20 people were killed and 60 injured in a collision between a bus and an armoured car, the South African government said on Tuesday.
The accident occurred on Monday on a national road in Limpopo, a province in the far north of the country, on the border with Zimbabwe.
According to AFP spokeswoman Tidimalo Chuene of the Department of Transport a team of police divers is currently searching a river below the road for people who may have been swept away by the waters.
South Africa has one of the most developed road networks on the continent but is said to be among the worst performers in terms of road safety.