At least 11 schoolchildren killed in South Africa minibus crash, reports say


  • World
  • Monday, 19 Jan 2026

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 19 (Reuters) - ‌At least 11 schoolchildren were ‌killed on Monday morning when a ‌minibus collided with a truck in a city south of Johannesburg, South African media reported.

Five ‍other pupils sustained "critical injuries" in ‍the incident in ‌the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark and were ‍en ​route to a hospital for urgent medical care, public broadcaster ⁠the South African Broadcasting Corporation said.

Emergency ‌services are on the scene.

South Africa has a ⁠bad ‍road safety record, which the government is trying to address.

Last year the country ‍recorded 11,418 road deaths, according ‌to data released last week, about 6% lower than 2024's number.

The transport ministry says reckless driving including speeding and drink-driving are among the major causes of road deaths.

Last week Transport Minister Barbara Creecy ‌said it was time to change the law to scrap the current legal alcohol ​limit when driving in favour of a zero-tolerance approach.

(Reporting by Anathi Madubela;Editing by Alexander Winning)

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