Fifteen people died and five others were injured in a head-on collision involving a fully loaded minibus taxi and a bakkie on the R63 between Adelaide and Maqoma (formerly Fort Beaufort) around midnight on Saturday.
“This is by far the deadliest crash we have experienced in a long time in the Eastern Cape,” said Eastern Cape transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose.
“Not even during the recent Easter holidays or December period did we see a single accident with such a high number of fatalities.”
According to reports, a white Toyota Quantum minibus was travelling from Qonce (King William’s Town) to Cape Town when it collided head-on with an Isuzu Double Cab from Adelaide and heading towards Kwamaqoma.
The driver of the Isuzu died at the scene, along with the Quantum’s driver and 12 of its passengers.
Emergency services transported six surviving passengers from the taxi to the Provincial Hospital, but one later died from injuries, raising the total death toll to 15.
The victims included eight adult men, six adult women, and one young girl.
An inquest docket has been opened, and authorities are investigating the circumstances of the crash, particularly since both drivers perished in the accident.
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