By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG

Twenty-seven people were killed and several others injured on Friday when a truck crashed into several vehicles in South Africa’s northeastern Limpopo province.

Provincial Transport Minister Makoma Makhurupetje told reporters that a truck driver lost control after one of his front tires burst, crashing into four vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

One of the vehicles was a minibus taxi transporting 22 passengers from the province to the country’s financial capital, Johannesburg.

“Some of the survivors have been airlifted to Pretoria and Polokwane hospitals,’’ she told local television Enca.

Road accidents involving passenger vehicles have become common in Limpopo, whose roads experience heavy traffic from vehicles either coming from or going to its border with Zimbabwe, South Africa's northeastern neighbor.

Last month 11 people were killed and 30 injured when their bus traveling from Zambia crashed in Limpopo. The passengers on board were all Zambian nationals.

Residents of neighboring countries frequently travel to regional superpower South Africa for various reasons, including trade and studies.