Emergency services were stretched across KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend after a series of serious road crashes and a critical drowning incident left four people dead and dozens injured. KwaZulu Private Ambulance (KZPA) spokesperson Craig Botha said paramedics responded to 29 motor vehicle collisions between Friday, December 12, and Sunday, December 14, in addition to a near-drowning involving a child. “KwaZulu Private Ambulance crews faced an exceptionally demanding weekend, responding to a relentless series of major incidents across KwaZulu-Natal.
The heightened activity began on Friday evening,” Botha said. Friday night at around 8:30pm on the Mhlahlane Main Road, uLundi, Botha said a heavy-duty truck had lost control, overturned and plunged into a river. Paramedics worked alongside the fire department and police to extricate the driver, who sustained multiple serious injuries.
The patient was stabilised on scene before being transported to the hospital. Just half an hour later, KZPA crews were dispatched to a collision on the R34 near Empangeni Milling involving a fully loaded taxi and a light motor vehicle. Nine people were injured, two seriously.
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All patients were transported to hospital, while traffic was partially obstructed during the operation. “Saturday brought two separate fatal incidents, beginning with a devastating recovery operation near Vryheid. At approximately 2:30am, units were dispatched to the R34/R33 Inkamana T-junction,” Botha said.
A vehicle had veered violently off the roadway, plunging an estimated five to eight meters down a steep embankment before smashing into a concrete culvert, partially submerging the vehicle in a Klipfontein Dam inflow. Emergency personnel confirmed the sole occupant had died at the scene.
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