Garrith Jamieson of ALS Paramedics said responders made their way down the embankment to the taxi and found five people had sustained major injuries and were declared dead at the scene.

He said they set up a triage station and treated 13 other passengers who sustained various injuries ranging from moderate to critical.

In the interim rescue teams made up of Durban Metro Police search and rescue, Ethekweni fire department and Mobiclaw members set up a roping system to bring the injured up to awaiting ambulances.

“After three hours all of the injured were rescued and transported to various Durban hospitals for the further care that they required. The scene then turned into a recovery operation.”

Duma said the accident happened shortly after the launch of the Durban July and Winter Holiday Road Safety Campaign. 

“I have mandated the RTI team to sustain the “No Nonsense, Zero Tolerance, and Alufakwa Campaign. We remain worried about reports that show that most road accidents happen in winter and at night.”

The Road Traffic Management Corporation published the following national fatalities for the previous years: