Twelve people have tragically lost their lives in a gruesome sideswipe crash involving a passenger bus and a truck on the R34 near Matatane, just outside Vryheid in KZN.

According to the Vryheid Herald, the crash occurred shortly after midnight and emergency teams remain on the scene.

Information from the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) indicates that the incident began with a head-on collision between two vehicles. The impact reportedly caused the truck to strike the side of the bus, leading to the high casualty toll.

KZN MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, offered his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and assured the public that a full investigation would be conducted in collaboration with the RTI, Road Traffic Management Corporation and SAPS.

“We are establishing facts around the reports that the bus may have been transporting supporters of a political party,” said Duma, speaking from Inkosi Mhlabunzima Maphumulo House.

The Witness reports that, in addition to the 12 people who died, 10 were seriously injured, 22 were slightly injured, and six escaped without injuries.

“The truck and bus drivers survived and have been taken to hospitals.”

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