Five people, four of them confirmed to be Eastern Cape department of health nurses, have been killed in a car accident on the R63 road between King William's Town and Alice this morning.
Eastern Cape department of transport spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca said the accident took place at 6am.
It occurred on a stretch of road between Middledrift and Debenk, he said.
A Toyota Avanza carrying nurses to a graduation ceremony in Alice collided head-on with a truck.
"Three people died on the scene and seven people were rushed to a hospital in Alice. Both drivers are amongst those critically injured," Kumbaca said.
However, health department spokesman, Siyanda Manana said two of the seven who were critically injured, died in Victoria Hospital .