Provincial government officials met with members of the Dalton community to show their support and express condolences at the loss of six lives in a horror smash near Dalton this weekend.
The also went to the scene of the collision.
Four school children were killed and another two sustained critical injuries when two taxis collided head on the P158 near Dalton on Friday evening.
Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda and Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwane, along with Umshwathi mayor Sphindile Zondi Mbhele, visited the families of the victims the following day.
ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said of the accident, “At approximately 5pm, paramedics from ER24 and other services arrived on the scene where they found one of the taxis well alight. Another taxi was found ripped apart. Several of the occupants were ejected. Sadly, four children, believed to be between 13 and 15 years old, suffered fatal injuries.”
Meiring said two people were in a critical condition. One, a school child, was placed on life support. Nine others sustained various injuries which included several fractures.
The government officials visited the accident scene, then proceeded to meet with families in Mount Eliot Hall in Dalton and later interacted with taxi drivers at a taxi rank in Dalton, accompanied by Sakhe Mchunu, chairperson of Dalton association.