The BBC's Jane Standley : "Seven men and women lucky to escape with their lives"

UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said the government in Pretoria had promised a full investigation.

He said it was clear "they attach a great deal of importance in ensuring something like this does not happen again".

Mr Cook, who is in Bournemouth for the Labour Party conference, was speaking as crash investigators began their work at Long Tom Pass, 135 miles east of Johannesburg.

Twenty-six Britons and one South African died when their coach left the road and tumbled down a mountainside.

Details are beginning to emerge about some of the dead, although the Foreign Office has said it cannot confirm details until later on Tuesday.

A policeman collects personal belongings from the dead at Long Tom Pass

One couple who died were Geoff Francis, from Ludlow, Shropshire and his wife Jean, a former secretary to the chief executive of South Shropshire district council.

The crash also claimed the lives of Clive and Joy Jones, from Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent.

Mr Jones was a former borough councillor and a major fundraiser for the North Staffordshire Hospital.

Wife survived

Another victim was Humberside businessman Tony Sparrowe, 63.

Mr Sparrowe, whose wife Jane survived with two broken legs, ran a firm of civil engineers and diving contractors in Hull.

Springbok Atlas is one of South Africa's biggest coach operators

His colleague Nigel Thacker, said: "Tony lived for work but he was looking forward to the trip.

"Jane wanted him to slow down and enjoy himself, so she booked the holiday in South Africa."

Mr Thacker said Mr Sparrowe rang up last week and said how much he was enjoying the holiday.

Alvin and Virginia George, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, were also killed.

The couple were both keen golfers and Judy Jones, captain of the ladies' team at the town's Castle Royle Golf Club, said: "Ginny rang me a couple of weeks ago to tell me they were going.

"They were very excited about the holiday and were especially looking forward to seeing the animals at the Kruger National Park."

Survivors transferred

Survivors of the accident have begun arriving at the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg.

First to arrive was the driver, Titus Dube, who suffered multiple injuries in the crash.

He was followed by Mrs Sparrowe and 62-year-old Shelley Wood, who is thought to have suffered facial and spinal injuries.

The newly arrived patients underwent immediate assessment by staff at the hospital's trauma unit, headed by Professor Ken Boffard.

He said: "All bar one or two are stable and are talking. The bulk of the injuries involved broken legs, other bones and chest injuries."

Coach driver Titus Dube arrives at a Johannesburg hospital

Prof Boffard said he was expecting relatives to travel from Britain to be with the injured holiday-makers and he said they could be accommodated within the hospital or at nearby hotels.

The firm who organised the trip, Thomas Cook, has said anyone who wanted to cancel a coach tour of South Africa could do so without losing money.

Chris du Toit, executive director of the Association of South African Travel Agents, said: "These bus crashes could well put our tourism industry at risk, depending on what we do from here and on what message we convey to the outside world about the safety of our road transport."

Lesley Dick: "All of a sudden it just seemed to go out of control"

The other survivors have been named as tour guide Caroline Sandover and passengers Lesley Dick, Harry Smith, Barry Watson, Dennis Dryden, Brian Denton and William Thorne.

The area is popular with tourists, who choose it as a favoured route between game viewing in the Kruger national park and the battlefields of the Anglo-Boer war.

Most of the tourists had booked their holiday through tour operator Thomas Cook, which had a British guide on board.

The bus was being operated by one of South Africa's biggest coach operators, Springbok Atlas. The driver reportedly told a local journalist his brakes had failed.

Crash investigators will want to interview him and will also want to inspect the wreckage of the coach, which has been removed from the hillside.

Thomas Cook has set up an emergency hotline for worried relatives or friends. The telephone number is 01733 417502. It will be open until 0000 BST on Tuesday and will reopen at 0600 BST on Wednesday.