An accident in Limpopo accounted for the most number in the statistics as eight people were burnt beyond recognition and another eight injured when a taxi collided head on with a passenger vehicle.

Both vehicles caught fire after the accident.

“Eight people were burnt beyond recognition. Another eight people were injured and taken to Matlala Hospital in Tsimanyane,” department of transport spokesperson, Kagiso Mootane, said.

Six of those burnt were from the taxi while two were in the passenger vehicle. The accident happened near Apel Cross.

Three people were injured in Johannesburg when two vehicles collided on Empire Road in Milpark. ER24 spokesperson, Russel Meiring, said paramedics found the two vehicles in the middle of the road. One of the vehicles was on its side.

“Paramedics found that three occupants from the overturned vehicle had sustained injuries ranging from minor to moderate. Paramedics treated the patients and thereafter transported them to hospitals in the area for further treatment,” he said.

Three people were injured after their vehicle rolled on the R300 in Kuilsrivier in the Western Cape. Meiring said the vehicle was found on its roof on the side of the road.

“It is understood that the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to leave the road. On assessment, paramedics found that two men and a woman had sustained moderate injuries in the collision,” he said.

Seven people were injured when a bakkie rear-ended another on the N1 Highway in Paarl, Western Cape. Two bakkies were found on the side of the road with the occupant seated nearby.

Meiring said paramedics treated the seven people including a 3-year-old boy. They had sustained injuries ranging from minor to moderate. One of the patients had been ejected from the back of the bakkie in the collision.

In the Free State, four people were injured with one critically when their vehicle rolled off the N1, 60km outside of Bloemfontein. Meiring said the car was lying some distance from the road.

“Paramedics assessed the patients and found that one had been seriously injured while the remaining patients had sustained only moderate injuries. Once treated, the seriously injured patient was airlifted to a nearby hospital while the remaining three were transported by ambulance,” said Meiring.

Three men were injured when their vehicle rolled off the Ohrtmann Road in Northdale, KwaZulu-Natal. Meiring said paramedics found the car lying on its roof with the passengers seated next to it.

“It is believed that the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to leave the road and roll multiple times. The occupants were later pulled from their vehicle by a tow trucker. The patients were treated and thereafter transported to Northdale Hospital for further treatment. The driver was apparently not found on the scene,” Meiring said.

In KwaZulu-Natal a man was injured when his car veered off the road and overturned on the M4 near the La Lucia off-ramp. Netcare911 spokesperson, Chris Botha, said the man was travelling northbound.

“Indications are the vehicle was travelling on the northbound lane when he veered off the road, collided with the barriers and then overturned. Its twisted frame came to rest in an open field. Paramedics arrived at the scene and found that the driver miraculously escaped with minor injuries. Medics examined the man at the scene but he refused further treatment and transportation,” said Botha.

-News24.com