JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - A bus overturned on a road in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, killing 11 people including one child, the transportation ministry said Wednesday.
The accident happened late Tuesday near the southeastern town of Aberdeen. Road safety organisation Arrive Alive said the vehicle's front right tyre burst, causing the driver to lose control.
The crash comes after 14 children and a driver died last week when their school bus veered off the road and plunged into a river in Western Cape province.
Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said Wednesday he had instructed police to begin stopping and checking every public transport vehicle on South Africa's roads with immediate effect.
"This is out of hand," he said in a statement.
"The safety of commuters is paramount, and all public transport vehicles will be monitored closely by transport authorities. We cannot have public transport operators who are only interested in making a quick buck, no matter what."
He said at least 76 people have been killed in August in eight separate crashes involving public transport vehicles.
South African roads are among the most dangerous in the world, with some 13,000 people killed every year -- more than 35 a day.
© 2011 AFP
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