Acting Regional Commander Andreas Nelumbu said the accident, involving an Opel Astra and a Toyota Corolla, took place about 50 kilometres north of Aus.

The Toyota was on its way from Rosh Pinah to Keetmanshoop.

The Opel was apparently transporting pupils of the Keetmanshoop Private School to Luederitz, Oranjemund and Rosh Pinah.

The driver of the Toyota and two passengers were killed, while two of the four occupants of the Opel died.

Police identified the deceased as Raymond McDonald Koopman (33), Pocoldnbach Apollus (47), Moses Dimitru Isaacks (39), Johannes Jacobus Van Zyl (28) and Frederick Johannes Ayris (14).

The two surviving passengers in the Opel, Joachim Manns (17) and Billy Beukes (18), were treated for shock and minor injuries in the Luederitz State Hospital.

Both were discharged on Saturday.

According to an eyewitness, the head-on collision reportedly happened when the Toyota overtook another car.

The bodies of the deceased were trapped in the cars and the assistance of the Roads Construction Company, upgrading the Aus-Luederitz railway, was called in to free them.

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