Seventeen people died in road accidents in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend, one of the bloodiest in recent years.

Eight people died when a bus travelling from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape to Secunda in Mpumalanga went off the R617, near Underberg, on Friday.

"The driver apparently lost control and the bus went down an embankment," said Nonkululeko Mbatha of the provincial transport department.

Another eight people were also killed when two bakkies collided in on the Darnall Bridge on the R102 in Nonoti, outside KwaDukuza.

One person died and two were seriously injured when a bakkie plunged off the M7 freeway to Durban in the rain and crashed into a clump of trees. - Canaan Mdletshe