Eastern Cape road death toll continues to climb

Five people were killed in a head-on collision on the R61 between Ngcobo and Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday night.

Provincial health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said that the five were killed instantly and six others were badly wounded.

“They were transported by ambulance to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital for treatment,” he said.

Kupelo added the accident was the third fatal incident on the R61 over the weekend.

“On Friday we had an accident in which eight people were killed and that followed another accident in which three people were killed.

“What has become clear is that speeding and negligent driving would need to be investigated further. Motorists seem to be ignoring the roadworks happening on this road,” Kupelo said.

He added that with the Eastern Cape being a “labour sending” province, workers had begun returning home.

“We urge people to plan their journeys because roadworks across the province are causing delays and people must be patient. We have taken a position as provincial government to deploy traffic officials at strategic points,” he said.

Jeff Wicks, News24