Overview
- Provincial officials confirmed nine fatalities in a late‑night New Year’s Eve head‑on collision between a minibus taxi and a passenger vehicle on the R61 between Engcobo and Cofimvaba, with Emergency Medical Services treating survivors and the road temporarily closed.
- The South African National Taxi Council extended condolences, confirmed the taxi was traveling from Ngcobo to Cofimvaba, and urged drivers to avoid fatigue and take regular breaks.
- Investigations into the R61 crash are under way and authorities have not released causal findings.
- In a separate incident on Monday night, a pedestrian was killed and another seriously injured after being struck on the Mdantsane Access Road, according to the Eastern Cape transport department.
- Also on Monday night, a head‑on collision on the R410 near Komani left the bakkie driver dead and others injured, with a critically hurt patient transported to Frontier Hospital.