Johannesburg, Oct 19 (AFP) At least 27 people were killed Friday in a road crash in South Africa's northern Limpopo province after a truck swerved into oncoming traffic when its tyre burst, a local minister said.

The accident involving multiple vehicles killed 25 travelling in a mini-bus taxi and two more in a sports utility vehicle.

"Overall we lost 27 people with four others sustaining serious bodily injuries," said the provincial transport minister Makoma Makhurupetje.

"What happened today is nothing short of a disaster," she said in a statement.

Earlier she told AFP the truck had burst one of its front tyres.

"Unfortunately it crossed over into oncoming traffic with another four vehicles and one of the vehicles was a taxi (minibus)," Makhurupetge said.

Despite having one of the most sophisticated road networks on the continent, South Africa battles with a high rate of road fatalities blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving, unroadworthy vehicles and failure to use seat belts. (AFP) KUN

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)