Fourteen people lost their lives early on Monday morning in a devastating collision between a minibus taxi and an SUV on the N9 road just outside Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
The accident occurred in the pre-dawn hours, according to Unathi Binqose, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape transport department.
He confirmed that all six passengers in the SUV were killed instantly, along with eight people travelling in the minibus taxi.
“A Mazda CX5 — with six occupants — and a fully loaded minibus taxi from the Western Cape [heading] to the Eastern Cape collided head-on.
“All six occupants of the SUV died on the scene, with eight occupants from the minibus taxi,” Binqose explained.
Details about those injured in the crash are yet to be confirmed, and authorities have not provided further updates on their conditions.
Emergency services remained at the scene throughout the morning, with rescuers working tirelessly to assist survivors and recover the victims.
The department stated that emergency rescue personnel are continuing to work tirelessly to save as many lives as possible, and that the operation was still underway at the time of the statement.
