Six people died after a taxi went down a mountain slope near Golden Gate in the eastern Free State on Saturday, police said.
Sergeant Mmako Mophiring said another six people were seriously injured.
The accident happened when the driver of the taxi apparently lost control of the vehicle on a sharp curve in the road, at Golden Gate around 9am.
The taxi was specially hired to take family members from Qwaqwa to a funeral at Fouriesburg.
The deceased included five women and a man.
Mophiring said the taxi went about 200 meters down the steep mountain slope, and came to a standstill on its roof with some of the occupants still inside.
Emergency staff battled for several hours to reach and retrieve the injured and dead.
The injured were rushed to the Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli regional hospital with serious injuries.
A case of culpable homicide would be investigated. - Sapa