22 die in South Africa road accident

Twenty-two people have been killed and six others sustained injuries when a van and a truck crashed in South Africa, Press TV reported.

The van, which was travelling from Rondebosch in Cape Town to Malawi, collided head-on with the truck, which was travelling to Cape Town, at around 4:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) on Saturday, the News 24 online news service reported.

Three children were among the dead. Grieving families cried at the scene as they stood near the completely destroyed van.

Two men, a woman, and three young girls were taken to the Laingsburg Hospital in serious condition.

The van driver did not survive the crash while the truck driver was reported to have been seriously injured.

"An investigation is under way to discover what caused the deadly accident," a spokesperson for the transport department, Logan Maistry, said.

South Africa's privately owned minibus taxi industry provides the bulk of public transport in the country but is plagued by poor driving and safety standards.

There are 14,000 deaths in road accidents every year in South Africa, according to the World Health Organization.