Watch: Truck driver’s leg nearly amputated in 8-hour rescue mission on N4 in Mbombela
A tireless rescue operation took place after a truck plunged down a steep embankment, with rescuers doing their utmost to help two people who were trapped inside the truck.
A doctor was rushed to a truck accident scene to make a call on possibly amputating a trapped driver’s leg to save his life in Mpumalanga yesterday.
Lowvelder reports that emergency crews managed to rescue the driver from the cabin before his leg needed to be amputated, although it took about eight hours to get him out.
The truck plunged down a steep embankment on the N4, near Riverside Park, at about 10:00.
The driver and his passenger were trapped inside the truck’s cabin, but the latter was rescued two hours later.
Emer-G-Med transported the passenger to Rob Ferreira Hospital. Emergency crews worked tirelessly to extract the driver.
@lowvelder A dramatic accident occurred earlier today when an articulated truck plunged down a steep embankment, after ploughing through a barrier and descending into the dense terrain below. Rescue teams are now in a race against time to save the two occupants who, according to Emer-G-Med’s Martin Jeffrey, are alive but trapped in the wreckage. Jeffrey, who is on the scene, stated that accessing the site has proven exceptionally challenging due to adverse weather conditions and the high water levels of the nearby Crocodile River. As a result, rescue teams have been dispatched to undertake the rescue effort. He anticipates this to be a prolonged operation, estimating that the road will remain closed for at least four hours.#mbombela #accident #n4 #mpumalanga
Ropes and boards were used to lift the driver up the embankment.
He sustained serious injuries to his legs and was treated on the scene before being transported to hospital.
“Just before 18:00, the driver of the articulated truck that went down the embankment was brought to the roadside to the awaiting ambulance,” says Martin Jeffrey of Emer-G-Med.
The truck lost its cargo of beans and rice, attracting looters. The police had a tough time preventing people from looting.
The road was opened to traffic once the scene had been cleared.
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