At least 11 people were killed in a road accident in South Africa on Thursday after a minibus taxi collided with a truck near the city of Durban in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, according to local authorities and emergency services.
The crash occurred in the early hours of the morning and involved a head-on collision between the two vehicles. Provincial transport department official Siboniso Duma said preliminary information indicated that 11 people, including a schoolchild, died at the scene.
He added that witnesses alleged the truck driver attempted a U-turn, leading to the fatal impact. An investigation has been launched by metropolitan and national police to determine the exact cause of the accident.
Garrith Jamieson, spokesperson for private emergency service ALS Paramedics, said seven others were critically injured in the crash. Among them was the minibus driver, who remained trapped inside the wreckage as rescue teams worked to free him.
The incident comes just over a week after another deadly road crash in the country claimed the lives of 14 schoolchildren, renewing concerns over road safety in the region.
