12 students killed as minibus collides with truck in South Africa

At least 12 students were killed on Monday when a minibus carrying students collided with a truck south of Johannesburg, police said, in the latest deadly road accident in South Africa, according to reports.

The crash reportedly took place near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark, about 60 km south of Johannesburg. Police reportedly stated that the minibus driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle while attempting to overtake other traffic.

Eleven died at the scene, while another succumbed to injuries in hospital, Gauteng provincial education minister Matome Chiloane reported in local news. He said these children were from both primary and high schools, though their exact ages were not immediately known.

Images circulating on social media showed the minibus crushed on the roadside as distraught parents gathered behind police cordons. Several were seen breaking down in tears after being allowed to view the bodies.

“It is a terrible scene,” Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said.

Many parents in the country depend on privately operated minibuses to transport their children to school. In October, 18 pupils were seriously injured when their minibus overturned on a highway in KwaZulu-Natal. At least five students were killed and eight others injured in September when a school minibus crashed into a crèche in a township in the same province.