Eight people were killed and 16 others injured on Sunday in a road crash involving a truck and a vehicle carrying passengers in South Africa, according to local media.

KwaZulu Private Ambulance Service responded to the collision on the N2 highway near Empangeni, a town in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, where paramedics found eight people dead at the scene, the local road safety website Arrive Alive reported.

Four people were critically injured and 12 seriously hurt. All the injured victims were treated at the scene before being taken to nearby hospitals for further care.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by local authorities.