A tragic head-on collision between a fully loaded minibus taxi and a bakkie claimed the lives of 15 people and left five others injured late Saturday night on the R63 between Adelaide and Maqoma (formerly Fort Beaufort).
Eastern Cape transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose described the incident as the province’s most fatal road accident in recent memory.
“This is by far the deadliest crash we have experienced in a long time in the Eastern Cape,” he said. “Not even during the recent Easter holidays or December period did we encounter a single incident with so many fatalities.”
According to initial reports, a white Toyota Quantum minibus was en route from Qonce (King William’s Town) to Cape Town when it collided head-on with an Isuzu Double Cab traveling from Adelaide toward Kwamaqoma.
Both drivers were killed instantly, along with 12 passengers from the taxi. Emergency personnel rushed six survivors to the Provincial Hospital, but one later succumbed to their injuries, bringing the death toll to 15.
The deceased include eight men, six women, and a young girl.
Authorities have opened an inquest docket and are investigating the cause of the crash. With both drivers deceased, the exact circumstances remain unclear.
