Bus crash kills 16, including children, on South African highway

Cape Town – A passenger bus carrying 78 people overturned in southwest South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 16 people, including children, police and transport officials said.

South Africa has one of the continent’s most developed road networks but continues to struggle with a high rate of road deaths, largely blamed on speeding, reckless driving, unroadworthy vehicles and the failure to use seat belts.

The bus was travelling from the tourist city of Cape Town to Idutywa in Eastern Cape province when it crashed in the early hours, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), a government road safety partnership, said.

[WATCH] 16 people died in a bus accident on the N1 near Touwrivier in the Western Cape this morning.

Credit: Vanessa Poonah #UpdateAtNoon #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/h7U7NeibCk

— SABC News Radio (@SABCNews_Radio) July 2, 2026

“It is alleged that the bus swerved to avoid colliding with a delivery vehicle when the driver lost control and the vehicle overturned,” RTMC said in a statement.

Police said most of the victims were declared dead at the scene and included seven men, five women and three children.

RTMC said 43 passengers refused medical treatment but did not provide a reason.

#sapsWC [FATAL BUS CRASH CLAIMS 15 LIVES NEAR TOUWS RIVER]#SAPS members, together with emergency and disaster management personnel, responded to a fatal bus crash on the N1 near Touws River at approximately 00:45 this morning.

Preliminary information indicates that a bus… pic.twitter.com/Zarg1zT0TO

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) July 2, 2026

Police said the circumstances surrounding the crash were under investigation.

In 2025, 11,485 people were killed in road crashes in South Africa, down more than five percent from a year earlier, according to RTMC data.

Most of the fatalities were pedestrians.