11 dead in South Africa minibus and truck collision days after similar crash killed 14 children

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A collision involving a minibus taxi and a truck killed at least 11 people in South Africa on Thursday, a local government official and emergency services said, just over a week after a similar road crash left 14 schoolchildren dead.

Thursday’s crash happened near the city of Durban in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province. Provincial transport department official Siboniso Duma said in a statement that 11 people, including a schoolchild, died at the scene, although that was according to preliminary information.

“Witnesses have alleged that the truck driver made a U-turn resulting in a head-on collision,” Duma said.

Garrith Jamieson, spokesperson for the private paramedic service ALS Paramedics, told the Associated Press that 11 were dead and several people were critically injured, including the driver of the minibus, who was trapped in the wreckage.

According to Duma, a preliminary probe into the incident revealed that the truck was operating illegally with worn-out tires. At the same time, the taxi driver’s professional license, necessary to operate any public transportation in South Africa, was found to have expired in 2023, he said.

The fatal collision came days after a deadly head-on crash between a truck and a minibus taxi being used to transport schoolchildren.

The driver of the minibus involved in that crash near Johannesburg on Jan. 19 was arrested and charged with 14 counts of murder after authorities alleged he was driving recklessly by overtaking a line of vehicles before crashing into the truck.

The 22-year-old driver was initially charged with an offense comparable to manslaughter, but prosecutors later upgraded the charges to murder.

On Thursday, South African Transport Minister Barbara Creecy expressed “serious concerns” about the continuous rise in traffic fatalities caused by crashes involving public transportation.

She instructed the country’s Road Traffic Management Corporation, which is responsible for organizing road traffic regulation, enforcement and strategic planning, to collaborate with local authorities to investigate the cause of the most recent collision.

A preliminary investigation report is expected within 48 hours of the RTMC beginning its inquiry, Creecy said.

Minibus taxis are the preferred method of public transport for most South Africans to get to and from work, with estimates that they are used by approximately 70% of commuters.

Africa has a wider problem with road safety, and crashes kill about 300,000 people annually, about a quarter of the global toll. Africa has the world’s highest road traffic fatality rate at 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with a global average of about 18, according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa. This is despite the continent of 1.5 billion people accounting for just about 3% of the global vehicle population.

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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa