A crash involving three trucks on the N3 northbound between Elands and Geldenhuys interchanges resulted in the death of a truck driver on Friday.

City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) rescue team from Germiston central fire station received the call at about 3pm and responded.

“One driver from a truck was found motionless still trapped behind the steering wheel of his truck while the drivers of the other two trucks escaped without visible injuries as on scene,” said District Manager Media Liaison for Emergency Services, William Ntladi.

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“One truck with the deceased driver had about four thousand litres of flammable Ethanol contained in four drums of a thousand litre capacity each.

“One drum had already spilled across the road. The second truck had about 3,6 tons of Xanthates granules which are flammable as well. The third articulate truck was fully loaded with bags of cement.

“The entrapped body of the driver was recovered by rescue team after an intense battle using specialised Hydraulic rescue tool Jaws of Life. He was declared dead on the scene.

“It is alleged that  an articulate truck had mechanical breakdown and was stationary in the middle of the freeway, hence the two smaller trucks following each other crashed on it one after another fatally wounding the front truck driver,” said Ntladi.

“All relevant resources were called on scene including water tanker and Foam tender from the local fire station due to hazardous chemical and fire risk identified.”