A bus carrying British tourists crashed on a notorious mountain road in northeast South Africa on Thursday, the eve of the continent's first World Cup. Two 19-year-old women were killed and 21 people were injured.

The accident occurred at about 08:30 GMT, near the town of Barberton.             

According to sources, the tourists did not appear to be in South Africa for the soccer tournament since they had tickets to leave by air on Friday.             

One critically injured passenger was rushed by ambulance to hospital in Nelspruit, a World Cup host city 250 miles east of Johannesburg.

South Africa's roads, especially in the mountainous areas along its northeastern borders with Mozambique and Swaziland, are notorious for accidents.             

World Cup organizers identified transport as one of the tournament's major challenges.