5 dead in SA after car collides with a petrol tanker

Five people have died after a car and a petrol tanker collided along the N1 near Polokwane in Limpopo, police said on Wednesday.

"Four [people] died at the scene and the fifth one later succumbed to injuries in hospital this morning, after midnight," Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said in a statement. All the victims were travelling in the car.

"The driver of the petrol tanker, which caught fire after the collision and partially burned, was taken to hospital. He was alone in the vehicle."

The accident occurred on Tuesday night, just before 20:30.

Mojapelo said it was believed that the car, which was northbound, had veered into the opposite lane and collided with the tanker which was travelling south.

Police will conduct further investigations to establish the exact circumstances of the accident, according to Mojapelo. A case of culpable homicide had been opened.

Police were also still trying to identify those who died, in order to notify their next of kin.