Cries from parents could be heard just metres from the scene of a horror crash in Mitchells Plain on Tuesday morning as news broke that their children had died while being transported to school.

Five children between the ages of seven and 11 years old died after a vehicle transporting them to school crashed on Tuesday morning in AZ Berman Drive, Mitchells Plain. Two children aged six and 15 years were taken to hospital following the incident.

Police have arrested the 55-year-old driver of the vehicle following the fatal crash and a culpable homicide case was opened for investigation.

Daily Maverick learnt that the driver was not the regular driver of the vehicle and that his niece is one of the deceased children. The usual driver of the vehicle did not report for duty on the day. The vehicle was illegally transporting learners, according to the Western Cape government.

"It is an unimaginable tragedy," reacted Western Cape Education Department (WCED) MEC David Maynier. "I have a young child myself and I cannot imagine what it must be like for a parent to get this terrible news."

Distraught parents' cries could be heard from the road outside AZ Berman Primary School. The incident happened a stone's throw away from the school and while no learners from the school were involved, Western Cape government officials used the school premises to accommodate the parents who immediately received...