A group of high school students and their driver tragically lost their lives when their vehicle collided with a truck on the N2 highway approximately 100 kilometres northeast of Durban, South Africa.
Samantha Meyrick, a spokesperson for IPSS medical rescue, confirmed that all seven teenagers and their driver died in the accident while the truck driver sustained critical injuries.
According to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government transport office, the vehicle carrying the students veered into the oncoming lane and crashed into the truck after the driver lost control.
Despite having one of the most advanced road networks on the continent, South Africa has a dismal road safety record, largely due to reckless or intoxicated driving and the prevalence of unroadworthy vehicles.
In 2019, over 6,400 individuals lost their lives in road accidents in South Africa, as reported by the government statistics office earlier this year.
In a separate incident, a minibus transporting schoolchildren near Johannesburg overturned and caught fire after being struck by another vehicle, resulting in the deaths of 12 children in July.