Multiple vehicle road crash in South Africa kills 21

Fatal traffic accidents are a recurring problem for South Africa.

A multi-vehicle collision in South Africa's Western Cape province has killed at least 21 people [Facebook.com/WCLiveTraffic]

A road accident involving multiple vehicles on one of South Africa’s main routes has killed 21 people.

The collision on the N1 highway in the early hours of Monday involved two Toyota minibus taxis and a Suzuki sport utility vehicle, police spokesperson Warrant Officer Christopher Spies told reporters.

The collision in Western Cape, South Africa’s southernmost province, was one of two major crashes in the country over the past two days. Eight people were killed in an accident near Ermelo in Mpumalanga province early on Sunday. Fatal traffic accidents are a recurring problem for South Africa.

Monday’s accident closed the N1 highway 380km (240 miles) east of Cape Town, between the small towns of Prince Albert and Leeu-Gamka, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said.

The death toll “may change as emergency services and authorities in the Western Cape continue their assessment of the scene”, according to the road safety agency.

Eighteen people were declared dead at the scene of the crash, while three others were announced dead after being taken to a hospital, bringing the toll to 21, said Spies. Another four people were seriously injured.

Nearly 11,500 people died in road accidents in 2025, according to the country’s Transport Ministry.

In 2023, a head-on collision between a tour bus and a cash-in-transit truck left 20 people dead and at least 60 others injured in the northern Limpopo province.

致命交通事故是南非反复出现的问题。

南非西开普省发生多车相撞事故，造成至少21人死亡。[Facebook.com/WCLiveTraffic]

南非一条主要公路发生多车相撞事故，造成21人死亡。

警方发言人克里斯托弗·斯派斯警官告诉记者，周一凌晨发生在N1高速公路上的碰撞事故涉及两辆丰田小巴出租车和一辆铃木运动型多用途车。

南非最南端的西开普省发生的这起车祸，是过去两天该国两起重大交通事故之一。周日清晨，姆普马兰加省埃尔梅洛附近发生的一起事故造成8人死亡。致命交通事故一直是南非反复出现的问题。

道路交通管理公司 (RTMC) 表示，周一发生的事故导致位于开普敦以东 380 公里（240 英里）的 N1 高速公路封闭，该路段位于 Prince Albert 和 Leeu-Gamka 两个小镇之间。

据道路安全机构称，随着西开普省紧急救援部门和当局继续对现场进行评估，死亡人数“可能会发生变化”。

斯派斯表示，事故现场共有18人死亡，另有3人在送往医院后不治身亡，死亡人数上升至21人。此外，还有4人重伤。

据该国交通部统计，到2025年，将有近11500人死于道路交通事故。

2023 年，在北部林波波省，一辆旅游巴士与一辆运钞车迎头相撞，造成 20 人死亡，至少 60 人受伤。