Six people were killed when a bakkie collided head-on with an Intercape bus near Brandfort, said Free State police on Thursday.

The accident happened at 9pm on Wednesday when a third vehicle overtook the bakkie which was carrying nine passengers, said Captain Magda Muller.

The bakkie then lost control and veered into the path of the oncoming bus.

There was a witness to the incident, but it was not yet clear exactly how the bakkie lost control. The driver of the bakkie, a man aged 47, and his passengers, three women and two children, died at the scene. Another women and two girls were taken to Pelenomi Hospital in Bloemfontein with serious injuries.

The driver of the bus, Grecory Henefore of Port Elizabeth, was also seriously injured. He was taken to MediClinic in Bloemfontein.

The bakkie had been driving in the direction of Theunissen and the Intercape bus in the direction of Brandfort.

Sapa