15 killed in South Africa minibus taxi crash

JOHANNESBURG - A head-on collision occurred between a minibus taxi and a truck in South Africa, leaving at least 15 people dead, police said on Saturday.

The minibus taxi crashed into the truck on the route R555 in the eastern province of Mpumalanga as they were travelling on Friday afternoon, said police.

Four children lost their lives in the crash and two injured people were taken to hospital, police said.

The taxi was running from the neighboring province of Gauteng when collided with the truck, but its driver survived the accident without injures.

The cause of the accident was not yet available, though it was believed the human error should be behind the deadly crash.

The local government has demanded the high-level investigation into the accident, calling for the harsh punishment for those who were responsible for the accident.  

Owing to drivers' neglect of safety awareness, lack of maintenance of vehicles and some other factors, road accidents have become one of the main killers in South Africa in the recent years.

On November12, 2013, a head-on collision between a bus and a truck claimed at least 29 lives in the same province.