Alfred Moselakgomo

Alfred Moselakgomo

Six people were killed in two accidents in Mpumalanga in the early hours of yesterday.

This comes only a week after 25 people died in another accident in the province. Twenty-two of the people will be buried in a mass funeral on Saturday.

Five people were killed when a car tried to overtake another vehicle at Wonderfontein along the N4 at about 3am.

The car collided head-on with an oncoming truck.

"Two children were seriously injured and taken to Middleburg Provincial Hospital," said roads and transport department spokesman David Nkambule.

In another accident, one person died and four were seriously injured when a minibus rammed into a train at about 5am in Mzinti, near Komatipoort. Nineteen people sustained minor injuries.

All the injured were taken to Tonga Hospital.

Roads and transport MEC Jackson Mthembu visited the injured in hospital and also went to inspect the scene of the accident.

Nkambule said the Road Traffic Management Corporation had sent an investigation team to establish the cause of the accident at Wonderfontein.

"We would like to caution road users, particularly drivers who ferry passengers, to keep a safe following distance and to stick to the speed limit," said Nkambule.

"Road users are also warned to be cautious due to the rainy weather," he added.