Two people were burnt beyond recognition after a fatal crash which left other three people dead on the N6 outside East London.
Eastern Cape Department of Transport spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, said the accident happened on Friday night when a truck collided head-on with a VW Tiguan SUV, both vehicles were carrying two occupants each.
“It’s not yet clear which hit the other from the back but they both veered off the road and the SUV caught fire and both of its occupants were burnt beyond recognition to the point where we could not even determine race or gender of the two,” said Binqose.
Binqose said the truck driver also died in the crash while his co-driver, sustained severe injuries and was rushed to Frere Hospital.
In another incident, only one family has been able to identify their child who perished in the minibus taxi accident which claimed the lives of 11 learners from Rocklands Primary School, and one learner from Laerskool Blyvooruitsig in Carletonville.
The learners including their transport driver, died in a road accident in the Merafong City municipal area on Gauteng’s West Rand on Wednesday.
It is alleged that the learner transport was hit from behind by a bakkie, causing it to overturn and subsequently catch fire.
Police spokesperson Kgomotso Netshitangani said the police team hoped more victims would be identified.
“We were hoping maybe three but only one could be identified. The next phase is to compare the DNA samples taken on Friday with the bodies,” Netshitangani said.
During his visit to the accident scene, Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane urged parents to check the condition of the vehicles that transported their children to school.
Chiloane revealed that at the time of the accident, the minibus taxi had been overloaded.
“I have met some of the private scholar transport operators that ferry children. This is a private agreement between a transport operator and the parents, but I always say parents must check the condition of the transport that takes their children to school,” he said
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