20 dead in South Africa bus crash

15.11.2011 [16:38]
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Baku, November 15 (AZERTAC). Four children under the age of eight are in critical condition after the midday accident outside the town of Mtubatuba, near the northeast coast, the KwaZulu-Natal province traffic authority said.

Sixteen people died at the scene, including all the passengers in one of the vehicles, the authority said. Four others died in hospital. Officials said they are investigating what caused the crash.

The accident happened on the N2 highway, a busy road during the holiday season. One minibus was travelling from the eastern port city of Durban to Mozambique, the other to the northeastern province of Mpumalanga.

Minibus taxi accidents are common in South Africa, where a poor public transport infrastructure makes the so-called "black taxis" the ride of choice for poor commuters.

The holiday season is also particularly deadly on South Africa’s roads, some of the most dangerous in the world.

More than 860 people were killed in road accidents in the first three weeks of December, the start of school holidays in South Africa, according to preliminary figures from the transport ministry.

"Currently, there are 40 people killed on South African roads every day," ministry spokesman Logan Maistry said.

20 dead in South Africa bus crash

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