Seven killed in horror M17 head-on crash as Easter road toll mounts in Eastern Cape

Image only for illustration. Picture: Eastern Cape Transport Department. A fatal collision on one of Gqeberha’s most notorious stretches of road has wiped out an entire carload of passengers, deepening the Eastern Cape’s grim Easter road safety toll and reigniting urgent calls for responsible driving.

A devastating head-on collision on the M17 road between KwaZakhele and Motherwell in Gqeberha on Sunday afternoon, March 5, left seven people dead and a province in mourning. The crash, which occurred at approximately 3pm, involved a Renault Triber carrying seven occupants and an articulated Fuso manganese truck driven by a single driver travelling in the opposite direction. The Triber – transporting three males and four females – was heading upward from KwaZakhele toward Motherwell when it collided head-on with the truck, which was travelling downhill from Motherwell toward KwaZakhele.

All seven occupants of the Triber were declared dead at the scene by emergency services. The truck driver survived and was treated for trauma. Eastern Cape Transport Department spokesperson Unathi Binqose described the emotional weight of the crash on all those involved.

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“This accident was so tragic that it took the lives of seven people,” he said. Binqose added that the scale of the loss had shaken even seasoned road safety officials. “When an accident of this nature occurs, it really does hit home.

It takes its toll on you as a human being – it’s emotionally draining.” Binqose also spared a thought for first responders at the scene. “I can imagine how the first respondents must be feeling seeing those bodies belonging to the people who were in that seven-seater dead,” he said.

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