Fourteen people, including 13 school children and the driver of the bakkie, who died recently during a horror crash in Pongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal, were laid to rest over the weekend.

A moving mass funeral was held at the Waterbus Sports Field in Pongola on Saturday.

In total 20 people died after a truck crashed into the bakkie they were travelling in on the N2.

The mass funeral was attended by numerous government delegations led by Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula, Minister of Police Bheki Cele, and Deputy Minister of Education Dr Reginah Mhaule.

The KZN provincial government was represented by MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Sipho Hlomuka, and the MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, who is also the District Service Delivery Champion of Zululand.

Some of the attendees included religious leaders, traditional leadership, teacher unions, teachers, and pupils from the affected schools.

Speaking during the mass funeral, Mhaule said 10 pupils from Victorious Independent School died in the crash.

“This means that there is no life in that school. That is why I say a team of social workers must come closer and work together with the school. We also want to send our deepest condolences to Thembokuhle Primary School as two pupils from that school died in the crash and at Siyathemba Primary School, one pupil died from the crash. Two pupils from Sakhumuzi Primary school died,” said Mhaule.

She said a teacher from Buhlebuzile Primary School also died.

Last week the truck driver, Sibusiso Siyaya, appeared in the Pongola Magistrate’s Court and is facing 20 charges of culpable homicide.

Siyaya is due back in court on Monday for a formal bail application.

On Thursday, Mbalula released the accident report which said the driver was reckless as he drove in the oncoming traffic lane for over 1.2 km.

Mbalula said the report found that Siyaya overtook multiple vehicles, where this action was prohibited by no-overtaking lines, dangerously and unlawfully.

Siyaya allegedly never made any attempt to return to his correct lane but continued driving against oncoming traffic, putting the lives of other motorists at risk.