Eleven people are confirmed dead in an ambush shooting on the R74 in KwaZulu-Natal, which is now being investigated as an incident of taxi violence, police said on Sunday.
“We have dispatched our taxi violence unit to the scene,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker.
On Saturday night, a minibus taxi from Gauteng was travelling from a funeral at Ematimotolo back to Johannesburg, along the R74 road between Colenso and Weenen, when it was ambushed by a group of people.
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On Sunday morning, Naicker confirmed that there had been 11 fatalities, while four people were seriously injured, and two people survived the attack without sustaining injuries.
The attackers emerged from bushes near the road, before opening fire on the vehicle’s occupants.
The victims were allegedly from a taxi association in Gauteng and had come to attend the funeral of one of their members.
Various investigators remained on the crime scene throughout the night and into the morning.
There were no immediate arrests.