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At least 11 people have died in a crash between a taxi bus and a truck in South Africa.
The truck was reportedly performing a U-turn at the time of the crash
Eight people also sustained critical injuries a spokesperson confirmed in a release
At least 11 people have died and multiple others have been seriously injured following a crash between a taxi bus and a truck in South Africa.
On Thursday, Jan. 29, the ALS Paramedics Medical Servicesconfirmedin a Facebook post that 11 people had died, including a child approximately 13 years of age, following the collision on the R102 near the city of Durban in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province.
Eight people also sustained critical injuries with seven being rushed to local hospitals, the ALS spokesperson confirmed in anupdate.
The spokesperson went on to say that the taxi driver was also critically injured and remained "severely trapped in the wreckage," adding that emergency services were struggling to free him due to there being "no space from the front or the back to maneuver."
PEOPLE has contacted ALS Paramedics Medical Services and the South African Department of Transport for comment.
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In pictures shared by ALS, the truck and taxi could be seen crushed together on the side of the road.
Dinky Mkhize / AFP via Getty
"So the instruction has been given to this heavy duty tow-truck to try and pull the truck a bit forward," the spokesperson explained in the video release.
Provincial transport department official Siboniso Duma told theAssociated Pressthat witnesses claimed they saw the truck making a "U-turn resulting in a head-on collision."
Duma added that preliminary findings have suggested the truck was traveling illegally with worn tires. The taxi driver's licence had also expired in 2023.
The tragic incident comes weeks after a minibus and a truck collision resulted in the deaths of 14 school children near Johannesburg on Jan. 19, according to the Associated Press andSky News.
The 22-year-old driver was charged with 14 counts of murder.
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