Five university students killed in crash on South Africa’s N2
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL, SABC News and Sowetan
Five students from the University of Fort Hare were killed on Saturday in a head-on collision between their minibus taxi and a truck on the N2, near Mount Ayliff in the Eastern Cape, according to IOL. Three injured people remain in critical condition, and other sources put the death toll at six.
The minibus was carrying thirteen people when the crash occurred at around 7am. According to Unathi Binqose, the provincial transport spokesperson, the vehicle, which had left Alice, is thought to have encroached on the opposite lane before hitting a Mercedes-Benz truck head-on as it travelled from Kokstad towards Mzamba. The driver’s fatigue is suspected, and police are continuing their investigation to establish the exact cause.
The young people had just finished their academic year and were heading to Bizana for the summer period. Two seriously injured people were transferred to Mthatha hospital, a third cannot be moved, while the other five survivors, who have been treated, have left the facility. The taxi driver remains in hospital.
The university’s spokesperson, JP Roodt, said the institution is deeply saddened and sees it as one of the worst road tragedies in recent years for students in the Eastern Cape. Acting Vice-Chancellor Mzukisi Njotini has asked the acting head of student affairs to meet the relatives this week. Psychological support is being put in place for survivors, and assistance is planned for the families of the injured.
The tragedy comes less than a day after another collision on the same road: on Friday, near Ndabakazi, seven people, including a five-year-old child, died.
