It's a new tragedy on the roads of South Africa: on Monday, 13 children died when a minibus, which was transporting them to their schools, collided with a truck. Several others were seriously injured.
The accident occurred near the industrial town of Vanderbijlpark, about 60 kilometers south of Johannesburg.
Police say the minibus driver lost control of his vehicle while trying to overtake other vehicles.
The death toll now stands at 13 after the death of an injured child, the provincial education department said in a statement. Several children were also seriously injured.
Authorities did not immediately release the children's ages, but provincial Education Minister Matome Chiloane said they attended primary schools, where the students are six years old, as well as high schools.
Images posted on social media showed the minibus crashed on the side of the road, with distraught parents gathered behind police tape. Some collapsed crying when they were allowed to see the bodies.
"It’s a terrible scene", Gauteng Prime Minister Panyaza Lesufi said. In a statement of condolences, President Cyril Ramaphosa said everything must be done to enforce the highway code and ensure the quality of school transportation services to protect students, "the nation's most valuable assets".
Many South African parents have to rely on private minibuses to take their children to school due to limited public transport.
At least five students were killed and eight others injured in September when a school minibus crashed into a nursery in a township in KwaZulu-Natal. In July 2024, 11 children, some aged seven and eight, were killed when a minibus taking them to school near Johannesburg overturned and caught fire after being hit by another vehicle.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Transport, more than 11,400 people lost their lives on South African roads in 2025.
