JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of 16 people were killed Monday in various road accidents across the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, authorities confirmed.
Siboniso Duma, a member of the Executive Council for Transport and Human Settlements in the KwaZulu-Natal government, said in a statement that eight people from one family died in a minibus accident in Nkandla Monday morning.
"Eight members of the same family died after a taxi overturned and rolled down the embankment. What is even more tragic is that the victims were traveling to a wedding," said Duma.
The accident came after five died in a head-on collision involving a police vehicle near Vryheid, northern KwaZulu-Natal, in the early hours of Monday.
Expressing his condolences to the bereaved families, he added that the local authorities have also dispatched a team to visit the families of the bereaved in Nkandla and Vryheid.
Also on Monday morning, according to Duma, two people died and others were injured in a taxi crash on the N2 Southbound, Spaghetti Junction, in KwaZulu-Natal.
In another accident, one person died and many others were injured when a bus overturned on the R618 Hlabisa road before Hluhluwe Game Reserve Gate towards Mtubatuba, Duma said. "It is alleged that the bus driver lost control after he experienced brake failures."
Meanwhile, South Africa's Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) called on motorists to drive with caution and respect the rules of the road as the New Year approaches.
"Law enforcement will be tighter on the roads and around places of entertainment to ensure the safety of all road users on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and when holidaymakers start traveling back home after the festive season holidays," it said Monday.
According to the RTMC, more than 1 million vehicles have been stopped and checked at various roadblocks throughout the country since the start of the festive season road safety campaign on Dec. 1.
A total of 6,470 people have been detained for violations including drunken driving, speeding, reckless driving and overloading. ■