Lungani Zungu
At least 19 primary school children and two adults have been killed in a horrific crash on the N2 between Pongola and Itshelejuba, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The children were being ferried in a bakkie on Friday afternoon when it collided head-on with a truck, the Department of Transport spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane confirmed.
KZN emergency medical services spokesperson Robert Mckenzie said the children were primary school pupils aged between five and 12, reports TimesLive.
The number of fatalities is likely to rise as emergency services remained at the scene of the crash late into the night searching for other victims trapped in the wreckage.
MEC Sipho Hlomuka said he would visit the grieving families on Saturday.
“We are deeply disturbed by this fatal accident. The death of so many young lives is a serious tragedy,” he said.
Earlier this month, 12 people died when the bakkie they were travelling in crashed between Lxopo and Highflats on the south coast of KZN.
In June, 17 people were killed in two devastating crashes: one in Howick in Pietermaritzburg and the other in Dundee.
Image source: @TrafficSA
