Hundreds of mourners gathered at Zidweni in the Bulwer area of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Saturday to pay their final respects to 13 members of the Mndali family who tragically died in a taxi crash.

The fatal accident happened when the minibus rolled down an embankment near Underberg last Saturday.

A two-year-old child was among the relatives who lost their lives in the crash.

Two people survived and were taken to hospital in a critical condition.

They had been returning home from a traditional ceremony.

Co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala, accompanied by transport MEC Bheki Ntuli and social development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza, were expected to attend the funeral.

However, due to the large number of people who arrived at the funeral, their attendance remained unconfirmed early on Saturday.

“It's an unusual accident in the sense that all the people who died belong to the same family. There are 13 of them who passed away and two are critical in hospital.

“So it is a real tragedy for the Mndali family,” Dlamini-Zuma told the media after the  accident.

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