The Acting Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Senzo Mchunu has called on the people of the province to unite in prayer for the families of the 24 people who perished in a horrific accident in Pinetown this evening.
“We are counting the numbers of people we, as a province are losing as a result of road accidents – and they happen so soon after the other. We have no words to express this but to say we are shocked and deeply saddened by such road carnage,” said Mchunu.
Mchunu said the Government of KwaZulu-Natal is mourning with the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to all those who were injured in the accident. He further offered the full support of the MEC for Transport, Willies Mchunu and expressed appreciation to him that he wasted no time and rushed to the scene the moment the accident was reported to him.
“We just had a political council yesterday (Wednesday) where we set up a team to take stock of the accidents in the recent past with the view to come up with new measures that will curb the carnage. We never anticipated that something of this magnitude could come so soon after an accident at the weekend where participants returning from the annual Read Dance held at Enyokeni Palace in Nongoma died near Melmoth when the driver of a bus they were traveling in lost control of the vehicle,” Mchunu continued.
Mchunu said all relevant government departments will pull together to offer any possible support to the families of the victims and those who survived the incidents.
Mchunu said he was aware that the Department of Transport was investigating the course of the accident and whether it could have been avoided. The accident took place at Fields Hill on the M13 when the truck driver lost control and ploughed onto four (4) taxis and a light motor vehicle. Twenty-four people were killed and 13 are critically injured.
The truck driver is currently in police custody for, among other things, reckless driving.
