A collision between a bus and a bakkie claimed the lives of three people and left 26 others with injuries ranging from minor to moderate.

Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson deputy chief Charles Mabaso says the accident, on the M10 in Bynespoort near Cullinan, happened just after 15:00 yesterday.

Emergency services department officials arrived on the scene to find that a bus and bakkie had collided. The bakkie was lodged under the bus, says Mabaso.

“Multiple patients from the bus received emergency medical treatment from various ambulance services.”

He says firefighters immediately started with the extrication of a man who was trapped inside the bakkie and presumed dead.

A heavy-lifting tow truck was requested to help lift the bus off the bakkie.

Once the bus was lifted, officials discovered that two boys, aged around 14, also died in the accident.

“The three victims, an adult male and two boys, were declared dead by paramedics on the scene,” says Mabaso.

Twenty-six people were transported to Mamelodi Hospital and Stanza Bopape Clinic, with injuries ranging from minor to moderate, by Gauteng Emergency Medical Services and other ambulance services, he adds.

“The cause of the accident is under police investigation.”