Six pupils killed, 13 injured after truck, bakkie collide in Eastern Cape

• Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide after a truck and a bakkie transporting school children collided on Tuesday evening.
• Six children died while 13 others were transported to hospital after sustaining serious injuries.
• Police say the children are aged between 14 and 18.

Six pupils have died in an accident in the Eastern Cape after a truck and a bakkie transporting school children collided, and then ploughed into pupils on the side of the road who were walking home.

Police said the children are aged between 14 and 18.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said six school children were fatally wounded, while 13 were transported to the hospital due to the serious injuries they sustained. 

"This follows after a collision between a truck loading sand and an Isuzu bakkie which was carrying learners from a nearby school. The circumstances surrounding the incident are currently under investigation. However, police are investigating a case of culpable homicide." 

Kinana added no arrests have been made. 

According to the Eastern Cape Department of Transport, the two vehicles collided and veered off the road, ploughing into the pupils walking home, killing six of them.

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Department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said they were devastated by the news. 

"We are deeply distraught to lose six young people in such a manner. It is just unacceptable, something we couldn't predict and something that could've been prevented had those behind the wheel abided with the rules of the road and reduced speed. We don't have all the details on what led to the accident." 

Binqose added preliminary reports indicated the driver had lost control of the vehicle and that speed was a factor. 

"We are still looking into the finer details of the matter on what could have been a contributing factor. The news is just devastating, it has shocked everyone in the province and we will keep an eye on the developments," he said. 

Accident investigators deployed by the department have assessed the scene and to establish the factors that caused the accident.