FIVE family members who died in a tragic accident will be laid to rest on Saturday, 26 July.
Family members Makhosi Ntombela (60), Thuli Dlamini (42), Sipho Zungu (6), Abenathi Ntombela (nine months) and son-in-law Kaserol Michael died on Sunday when the car they were travelling was involved in a gruesome crash.
Their funeral service will be held at Mjibha Sports Fields, Mahlabathini, near Ulundi in KZN.
They died after a Ford Ranger bakkie, which had four passengers, lost control and collided head-on with their Hyundai Grand i10 at Dokodweni, Nyezane Village in Gingindlovu, northern KZN on Sunday night.
According to the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI), the Hyundai Grand i10 was transporting eight passengers. They were travelling from Nongoma to Durban.
Three other passengers from the same vehicle survived. In the second vehicle, a white Ford Ranger, four passengers survived. They were travelling towards Gingindlovu.
However, KZN Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said his department is preparing for the mass funeral of the five victims of a horrific head-on collision that took place on R66, Gingindlovu.
He said on Wednesday their District Chaplain in King Cetshwayo, Fata Sipho Mbatha and a team from his office accompanied the Ntombela family to Eshowe mortuary.
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"The family is originally from KwaMjibha, Ulundi. Fata Mbatha is providing spiritual support to the family members as they identify the bodies of the departed souls. We ask God to shine His light on the Ntombela family as they prepare to bury the mother, her daughter, her grandchildren, and the son-in-law," he said.
He said social workers and a team from his office were with the family because they understood that identifying the deceased in the mortuary is a very traumatic process.
"It may lead to stress and depression and could also result in mental health challenges for the family members. Critically, in order to ease the burden on the family, we are assisting the family with expenses associated with the funeral," added the MEC.
