About 20 children were killed when the minibus in which they were travelling collided with a truck and burst into flames near the South African capital Pretoria.
Emergency crews at the scene said the victims were aged between five and 10. Russel Meiring, a spokesman for paramedic company ER24, said several children survived after being pulled from the wreckage near Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria.
Images posted by ER24 on Twitter showed the crumpled, smoking minibus on its side next to the truck. Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.
Transport minister Joe Maswanganyi expressed condolences with the families of the dead.
In an interview with the eNCA news outlet, he said many road incidents ni South Africa occurred because of reckless driving and that increasing the police presence on the roads would have limited results.
“If human behaviour doesn’t change, there isn’t much that police can do,” he said.
A total of 235 people died in incidents on South Africa’s roads during the recent Easter period, a 51 per cent increase over the same period last year.
PA