Pic: ER24
At least 18 people have been killed in two horror accidents in Kwa Zulu Natal and the Free State at the weekend.
Thirteen people were killed, including a child, and two others were injured following a taxi rollover in Underberg, KwaZulu Natal, late on Saturday afternoon.
ER24's Russell Meiring says the roof of the taxi was completely ripped off, and paramedics found several people lying scattered around the scene.
He says 12 adults and a two-year-old child had sustained fatal injuries, and they were declared dead.
The injured were treated at the scene and transported to nearby hospitals.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has sent his condolences to the family and friends of those who died.
Meanwhile, five people were killed and one other seriously injured in an accident between a bakkie and a light motor vehicle on the N8 in Bloemspruit in the Free State early on Sunday morning.
ER24's Russell Meiring says paramedics, along with the Bloemfontein Fire Department, arrived at the scene at around 02:30 to find the bakkie on its roof on the side of the road.
The light motor vehicle was found further down the road.
Meiring says four women and one man from the light motor vehicle sustained fatal injuries and were declared dead at the scene.
He says the driver of the bakkie was trapped in his vehicle in a serious condition and the jaws-of-life had to be used to free him.
He was transported to the Pelonomi Provincial Hospital in Bloemfontein.
Local authorities are investigating.
