A North West family had just finished with the ilobolo negotiations and ready to start with the preparations for the wedding when they received a call informing them that half of the delegation had died.

Thirteen relatives, including the mother of the groom, two daughters-in-law, and the groom’s aunts died when a bakkie collided with a minibus they were travelling in.

The horrific accident happened on Sunday on the R49 between Ottoshoop and Mahikeng.

Ntona Marofa, the uncle of the man who had proposed marriage, lost his wife in the accident.

“We were in denial. Soon after arriving at the scene [of the accident] we found that they were all dead,” Marofa said.

“We are still trying to process what had happened as almost all of our relatives had perished in that horrifying accident.”

He started counting the bodies with the hope of finding the body of his wife.

The husband-to-be was among the people who were identifying the bodies yesterday.

“He can’t talk, everybody is weak. As we speak, we are not sure what will happen to those in hospital... whether a few more will also die.

“I understand that they are in a very critical condition,” Marofa added.

The North West department of community safety and transport confirmed that 13 people died in the accident.

Departmental spokesperson Thabo Sematle said: “There are 12 surviving people from the accident who are critical in hospital.

“We will be liaising with the family to get all the correct names of those who have passed on.”