Eight British tourists were killed in South Africa when their minibus crashed while swerving to avoid a pedestrian who was reportedly trying to commit suicide, it emerged today.

The five men and three women were on their way to the Royal Natal National Park when the New Year's Eve tragedy happened.

They were among a party of holidaymakers travelling along the steep and windy R74 road towards the Drakensberg mountains yesterday.

Five other people travelling on the bus - two British tourists, a Canadian, a South African driver and a tour guide - all suffered minor injuries.

Local resident Buyisiwe Miya witnessed the crash, according to the Press Association. She described how the pedestrian who was killed had spoken that day of wanting to commit suicide.

"A man was walking around telling people he wanted to kill himself, but no one took him seriously," she said through a translator.

"Suddenly I saw him in the road walking in front of cars. Most cars were stopping or going round him.

"The bus tried to avoid him but the trailer hit him."

Miss Miya, in her 20s, said: "The bus swerved across the road and into a ditch. I was so scared I had to leave. I saw bodies lying in the road."

She described the victims as middle aged, apart from one who was elderly.

Tyre marks could be seen near the Amphitheatre Lodge guest house on the road between Harrismith and Bergville, where the crash happened at around 4.30pm yesterday,

The pedestrian, who was killed, was named as Pelepele Miya. It has not been established whether the victim and the witness were related.

The British tourists had been in South Africa for around 10 days, exploring some of the country's most famous sites on a holiday run by Exodus Travels.

Royal Natal National Park is home to some of Drakensberg's most dramatic scenery including the Amphitheatre - a rock wall about 5km in length, and approximately 1km in height.

Powell Ettinger, a spokesman for Exodus, said of the tragedy: "Our hearts go out to the relatives of all those involved. We are going to be running a full investigation into what happened, and until then I can't really say much about the state of the minibus," he told Sky News.

"Our managing director has arrived in South Africa already to give all assistance to the survivors and any relatives flying out to see them.

He added: "We work with licensed operators. Safety is uppermost in our minds for all of our holidays.

Captain Joshua Gwala, of KwaZulu-Natal Police, confirmed that Mr Miya, who was in his 20s, triggered the accident when he stepped into the road in front of the minibus.

The South African driver swerved, but then lost control of the vehicle, which overturned.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "It was one of those tragic accidents. Someone ran out into the road causing the driver to swerve."

Police are not blaming the driver for the crash, the Foreign Office spokesman said.

Logan Maistry, spokesman for the KwaZulu Natal department of transport, said that six Britons were killed at the scene and two died later.

A team of experts has been sent to the crash site to investigate.

The R74 road is said to be steep and winding in parts and is often shrouded in mist.

The five injured people were taken to hospital in Ladysmith but have since been released.

A spokesman for the British high commission in Johannesburg said the Britons came from different parts of the UK.

The consular officer and high commissioner are providing assistance to the survivors, he said.

Relatives of the British tourists were due to make their way to South Africa shortly, Exodus said.

Crispin Jones, the company's spokesman, said: "I believe the relatives will be travelling to the country. We are assisting them."

He said some were likely to be leaving tonight.

The company's managing director David Gillespie flew out to visit the crash site yesterday.

Local police named the victims as Roger and Linda Pearce, a married couple from Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, and Neil Pike and Christine Rowe, a couple from Preston, Lancashire.

Also killed in the crash were Anthony Egan from Surbiton, Surrey, and Thomas Harris from Cardiff.

A married couple were also killed but their names cannot be released as next of kin have not yet been informed.

The Foreign Office confirmed the names.