IN SHORT: An image of an overcrowded mortuary has been circulating on South African social media in December 2025. Posts claim it shows road crash victims in Gauteng province since late November, but this is not true. The image has been online since 2022.
An image circulating on social media in South Africa in December 2025 shows an overcrowded room, with shelves stacked full of what appear to be body bags, and other bodies placed on the floor.
The description posted along with the image reads: “Please arrive alive. These are bodies in the one of the biggest Mortuary in Gauteng for people who passed on since the beginning of Black Friday only.”
The photo has been viewed tens of thousands of times across just two posts. But the image has been online since 2022 and has been used as part of false claims before.
South Africa’s death rate from road injuries is relatively high according to cross-country comparisons with the data available.
The country’s Road Management Traffic Corporation (RTMC) reports statistics on crashes and deaths annually and in peak periods. Their report on the 2024 festive season, covering 1 December 2024 to 11 January 2025, counted 1,589 deaths, including of drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.
Many fatalities were of pedestrians (42%), and 38% of fatal crashes happened in just two provinces, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. The overwhelming majority (85%) of crashes were caused by “human factors”, like speeding or...
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