At least 27 people are thought to have been killed in a horrific accident in Durban, South Africa.
The carnage happened when a truck crashed into four minibus taxis and a car in Fields Hill, Pinetown, at a busy crossing yesterday.
The horrific crash Thursday evening just before 7pm was filmed on video from the window of a car behind the taxis which had stopped for the red light. The car was seconds away from being rammed by the truck also.
The driver of the 18-wheeler truck has since been arrested and charged with culpable homicide.
Bystanders were roped in by paramedics to hold drip bags for some of the injured.
Paramedics had arrived at the scene to find people and debris scattered across the scene.
Witnesses told how people were flung from the vehicles as they were hit and then dragged by the truck.
Another driver, who narrowly escaped being rammed by the truck, spoke of his shock following the accident. His in-car video captured the moment of impact.
He said: 'I picked my wife up at work and we talked about supper - we could just order some supper and have it at home.
'I was talking to my wife just before we went on to the M13. As we pull off my eyes just caught a glimpse of the light of the truck. It happened so fast. I'm very shocked. I can't believe I wasn't there - thank you to the Lord.'
The eThekwini Fire Brigade used the Jaws-of-life to extract some of the injured and the dead from the mangled wreckage of the taxis.
A local Netcare911 spokesperson Chris Botha told eNCA.com on Friday that the initial death toll was thought to be 27, but was lowered to 22, 19 of whom died at the scene and three later in hospital.
Botha said just after the crash: 'It's a total disaster here. A heavy-goods truck came down through Fields Hill and collided with two cars on the M13 and then four taxis and another car.
'Seven critical, eight serious injuries and miraculously, 11 escaped with relatively minor injuries.'
It was believed the truck crashed into the vehicles when its brakes failed.
The truck, belonging to Evergreen Transport, allegedly took the off-ramp from the M13 at the bottom of Fields Hill and crashed into the minibus taxis and car which had just pulled away after waiting for the lights to turn green at the intersection with Richmond Road.
The truck came to a standstill about 30 metres from the intersection.
Several political parties in South Africa have sent their condolences to the families of the 22 people confirmed dead.
This accident adds to the recent list of fatal crashes in the area that have claimed over 60 lives in the past two weeks. Among the dead were a group of girls who had been travelling back after taking part in the Annual Reed Dance in Nongoma, KZN.
The African National Congress said it was saddened by the deaths. KwaZulu-Natal acting premier Senzo Mchunu said a team was set up on Wednesday to come up with measures to curb road deaths.
The carnage happened when a truck crashed into four minibus taxis and a car in Fields Hill, Pinetown, at a busy crossing yesterday.
The horrific crash Thursday evening just before 7pm was filmed on video from the window of a car behind the taxis which had stopped for the red light. The car was seconds away from being rammed by the truck also.
The driver of the 18-wheeler truck has since been arrested and charged with culpable homicide.
Bystanders were roped in by paramedics to hold drip bags for some of the injured.
Paramedics had arrived at the scene to find people and debris scattered across the scene.
Witnesses told how people were flung from the vehicles as they were hit and then dragged by the truck.
Another driver, who narrowly escaped being rammed by the truck, spoke of his shock following the accident. His in-car video captured the moment of impact.
He said: 'I picked my wife up at work and we talked about supper - we could just order some supper and have it at home.
'I was talking to my wife just before we went on to the M13. As we pull off my eyes just caught a glimpse of the light of the truck. It happened so fast. I'm very shocked. I can't believe I wasn't there - thank you to the Lord.'
The eThekwini Fire Brigade used the Jaws-of-life to extract some of the injured and the dead from the mangled wreckage of the taxis.
A local Netcare911 spokesperson Chris Botha told eNCA.com on Friday that the initial death toll was thought to be 27, but was lowered to 22, 19 of whom died at the scene and three later in hospital.
Botha said just after the crash: 'It's a total disaster here. A heavy-goods truck came down through Fields Hill and collided with two cars on the M13 and then four taxis and another car.
'Seven critical, eight serious injuries and miraculously, 11 escaped with relatively minor injuries.'
It was believed the truck crashed into the vehicles when its brakes failed.
The truck, belonging to Evergreen Transport, allegedly took the off-ramp from the M13 at the bottom of Fields Hill and crashed into the minibus taxis and car which had just pulled away after waiting for the lights to turn green at the intersection with Richmond Road.
The truck came to a standstill about 30 metres from the intersection.
Several political parties in South Africa have sent their condolences to the families of the 22 people confirmed dead.
This accident adds to the recent list of fatal crashes in the area that have claimed over 60 lives in the past two weeks. Among the dead were a group of girls who had been travelling back after taking part in the Annual Reed Dance in Nongoma, KZN.
The African National Congress said it was saddened by the deaths. KwaZulu-Natal acting premier Senzo Mchunu said a team was set up on Wednesday to come up with measures to curb road deaths.
Source: DailyMail
Comments
Post a Comment