Ten people were killed and five seriously injured when a minibus taxi crashed into a tree on Georgedale Road in Hammarsdale, in eThekwini's outer west, on Wednesday afternoon.
All ten who died were men. They were declared dead at the scene.
The Durban Metro Police Service confirmed the toll on Thursday. "The Durban Metro Police Service can confirm that 10 people have sadly lost their lives," the service said.
The taxi was travelling from Hammarsdale towards Cato Ridge and crashed near Hibiscus Hospital. According to a preliminary report by the Road Traffic Inspectorate, the driver lost control on a bend before the taxi left the road and hit the tree.
"Total chaos and carnage"
ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said crews arrived shortly after 5pm to find "total chaos and carnage".
He said the taxi had been fully loaded and had "somehow left the roadway before crashing into a tree".
Several people were trapped in the wreckage. Firefighters from the eThekwini Fire Department and the Durban Metro Police Service Search and Rescue Unit used hydraulic tools, including the Jaws of Life, to cut them free.
The toll was first put at eight and rose to ten as rescuers worked through the wreck.
The five injured, whose injuries ranged from serious to critical, were stabilised at the scene and taken to nearby hospitals. The driver and the conductor survived.
The road was closed for several hours while emergency crews and investigators worked at the scene.
MEC sends team to trace families
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma offered his condolences to the families of the dead.
"We are deeply saddened by this horrific accident and the loss of 10 lives," he said.
Duma has directed a road safety team to work with the local taxi association to identify the victims and contact their families. None of the dead has been named.
The South African Police Service and the Road Traffic Inspectorate are investigating the cause of the crash. Officials have not said how many passengers were on board or whether speed or the condition of the vehicle played a part.
Second deadly taxi crash in KZN in under two weeks
The Hammarsdale crash comes 10 days after 13 people died on the N2 near Mtubatuba in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
In that crash, on Sunday 27 September, a minibus taxi collided with a sugarcane truck and burst into flames. The victims were dancers returning home to eMdletsheni from the Isibaya Ingoma Festival in Empangeni. Eleven died at the scene and two more in hospital.
In January, 11 people were killed on the R102 near Isipingo, south of Durban, when a truck ploughed into a fully loaded minibus taxi and pinned it against a tree.
