Eleven people, including a learner, were killed in a devastating road crash involving a truck and a minibus taxi in Lotus Park, Isiphingo, south of Durban, on Thursday morning.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for transport and human settlements Siboniso Duma said he was en route to the scene from Pietermaritzburg as emergency services continued rescue and recovery operations.
“I am currently making my way to the scene of a horrific accident involving a truck and a minibus taxi in Lotus Park, Isiphingo,” Duma said in a media statement.
According to a preliminary report from the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI), 11 people died at the scene, while six others sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the nearest hospital for urgent medical treatment.
“Unfortunately 11 people, including a learner, have died in this horrific accident,” Duma said, adding that RTI officials were among the first responders on the scene.
Multi-agency investigation launched
The crash occurred on the M35 route, a busy arterial road linking several residential and industrial areas.
Witnesses at the scene alleged that the truck driver attempted to make a U-turn, resulting in a head-on collision with the minibus taxi.
Duma stated that a multi-agency investigation is taking the allegations seriously.
“It is for these reasons I have mandated the RTI team to work with the Durban Metro Police Department and the South African Police Service as part of an investigation. We want to establish the cause of this accident,” he said.
The crash comes weeks after KwaZulu-Natal recorded a historic 18% decrease in road fatalities during the festive season, a statistic that has now been overshadowed by the scale of Thursday’s tragedy.
The MEC extended condolences to the bereaved families and confirmed that his department had activated support measures.
“We wish to extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” Duma said. “I have assigned a team from my office to locate the families of the victims. We will do everything in our power to ensure that they receive the necessary support.”
Emergency personnel remained on the scene late into the morning as traffic was diverted and debris cleared. While investigations continue, authorities have urged motorists to avoid the area.
School kids perish in accident
The Isiphingo crash comes barely a week after another horrific accident in Gauteng, where 14 schoolchildren lost their lives in a collision involving a scholar transport vehicle.
That accident, which occurred in Vanderbijlpark in the south of Johannesburg, sent shock waves across the country and reignited national concern over the safety of public and scholar transport.
Several learners died at the scene, while others succumbed to injuries in the hospital, prompting calls for urgent intervention, stricter enforcement, and accountability across the transport sector.
Together, the two crashes have claimed 25 lives in less than 10 days, many of them young and vulnerable commuters who rely on minibus taxis every day.
Duma promised to inform the public as more details about the Isiphingo accident become available.
