Video footage shows how 17 taxi passengers died

KwaZulu-Natal authorities say the accident that claimed 17 lives on the N3 occurred when a minibus taxi lost control, swerved towards the right oncoming lane and collided with a truck head-on.

MEC for transport and human settlements Siboniso Duma said this was based on the footage obtained, which had captured the accident. 

"From the video footage obtained during this initial stage of the investigation, it is very clear that the minibus lost control and swerved towards the right oncoming traffic lane and collided with a truck head-on.

"The cause of the minibus [losing control] is unknown at this stage, but we are strongly suspecting the following: heavy rainfall, speed, vehicle defect or driver negligence. At the time of the collision, it was raining heavily, dark and misty."

According to Duma, there was a secondary accident involving a silver Renault Clio with two occupants who were driving from Durban.

"They unfortunately drove over the bodies of passengers who were flung out of the minibus taxi. The two occupants were not injured," he said.

It was initially reported that 18 people had died in the crash and that only a baby had survived. However, Duma said it was in fact 17 people who passed away – seven men, three women, three boys and four girls. The only survivor is a baby girl.

"At this stage, we wish to indicate that according to the owner of the minibus taxi, the families of the deceased have been identified and notified.

"Arrangements are being made by the owner and UNcedo Taxi Association for family members to travel to Ladysmith to identify their loved ones," Duma said.

He said the taxi was travelling from Qumbu in the Eastern Cape to Johannesburg.

The department also said the truck belonged to Pangolin Logistic and the driver was a 37-year-old foreign national who disappeared from the scene after the crash.

"We remain concerned about the fact that the driver of the trucking company contacted the owner of Pangolin Logistics before disappearing. We are asking ourselves too many questions. Who assisted him in disappearing from such a remote area at night?" asked Duma.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said: “The truck driver fled from the scene and the police are still looking for him.”

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