SOUTH AFRICA - 4 PEOPLE DEAD ON EASTERN CAPE ROADS AS NATIONAL ROAD DEATH TOLL INCREASES

Four people have been killed in two separate crashes in the Eastern Cape as the Easter long weekend starts.

In the first incident near Sibangweni outside Mthatha, three people died, two of whom burnt beyond recognition in a collision involving four vehicles.

The deceased were in a car which caught fire. Two other occupants in the car managed to free themselves but one succumbed to injuries and died on arrival at hospital.

In the second incident, a 12-year-old minor died in a collision between two vehicles on the N2 between Peddie and Makanda on Thursday night.

In Limpopo, the Roads and Transport MEC Makoma Makhurupetje, has urged motorists using the R71 to exercise patience amid heavy traffic volumes and delays.

This after 10 people died in a collision between a taxi and a truck on the N1 north at the Kranskop plaza on Thursday. Makhurupetje outlines alternative routes for those travelling during the Easter weekend.

“We want to request that as the R71 is going to have a high traffic volume,  those going to the church in Mokopane please use the Zebediela road so they can enter easily on that side. Those coming from the Tzaneen side, and the Bushbuckridge side they must use the R81 because at some point the R71 is going to be highly blocked in terms of the traffic.”

Meanwhile, one person has been killed and three others injured after a motorist crashed into a group of cyclists on the R55 road in Zwartkops, south of Pretoria on Friday morning.

Tshwane Metro Police spokesperson Isaac Mahamba says the driver abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene.

“Two cyclists got injured, and there’s one fatality. Six accompanied the injured people to the hospital. And there was one injured person from the Tazz that got involved in that particulat incident. We request the driver of the said Tazz who ran away from the scene after it happened to hand himself over to the police station just to obtain statements from him as to establish what happened.”

via - SABC