City of Tshwane officials are probing a collision between a bus and a truck on the N1 Northbound near Maubane, in Pretoria North, that claimed four lives.
The accident happened about 10 km from the Carousel Toll Plaza on Monday morning.
Tshwane Emergency Services Department spokesperson, Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni said the collision was reported to the Emergency Communication Centre at about 7am.
He said the firefighting resources were immediately dispatched from Temba Fire Station, Wonderboom Fire Station and Rosslyn Fire Station to the scene.
“These included two fire engines, a water carrier, a water tanker, a rapid intervention unit, a video unit and a district commander’s unit.
“Upon arrival, firefighters found out that a bus carrying multiple passengers, and a diesel tanker truck with only one occupant, were involved in a collision and both vehicles were fully involved in fire,” Mnguni said.
He said the diesel tanker was empty, and firefighters immediately began with firefighting operations.
“They helped to extinguish the fire on both vehicles that were extensively damaged because of the collision. Firefighters from Bela-Bela Local Municipality Fire Brigade Services were also on the scene with a fire engine and a rapid intervention unit and they assisted with firefighting and other incident operations,” Mnguni added.
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He said a total of 118 patients, including 117 from the bus, and one from the diesel tanker truck were affected by the crash.
“There were no entrapments. Sadly however, four patients suffered fatal injuries when the collision occurred. The other surviving patients were triaged, with one patient was critically injured, eight additional others sustained minor to severe injuries.”
Mnguni added that the other 104 passengers did not sustain any injuries.
He said Gauteng Emergency Medical Services, Limpopo Emergency Medical Services and other private emergency medical services were on the scene and helped with the treatment and transportation of all injured patients to the nearby Bela-Bela Hospital and Jubilee District Hospital.
“The South African Police Service and the National Traffic Police assisted with incident management, including law enforcement and road closure,” Mnguni said.
He said the N1 Highway was closed on both carriageways for safety during the various operations.