10 killed, 24 injured in crash involving minibus taxi and truck in South Africa

By Hassan Isilow

Ten people were killed and 24 others seriously injured in a collision between a mini-bus taxi and truck bus near Delmas, a small farming town in South Africa’s eastern Mpumalanga province, officials said.

Spokesperson for Mpumalanga department of community safety Moeti Mmusi told state broadcaster SABC that the crash occurred in the early hours of Monday.

It involved a mini-bus taxi transporting passengers from Johannesburg to Mpumalanga enroute to Mozambique and a truck bus. ‘‘Unfortunately 10 people died on the scene, 24 people sustained serious injuries,’’ Mmusi said.

He said eight of the deceased were passengers of the mini-bus taxi, and two were from the truck.

‘‘It’s a sad day for us, we don’t know what caused the accident, we suspect fatigue may have had a hand but our team of investigators are on the scene,’’ the official added.

Minibus taxis are the main mode of transport in South Africa, transporting millions of people to work, schools, provinces, towns, and even across the borders daily.