A family in Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, has been left shattered after a runaway water tanker ploughed into their home, killing two loved ones — including a six-year-old boy — and reducing the house to rubble.

According to The Witness, the tragedy unfolded on Sunday evening when the tanker lost control, veered off the road, and crashed into two homes.

While the first house sustained only minor damage, the second — a humble family home — was almost flattened, instantly turning a peaceful Sunday gathering into a scene of horror.

Six-year-old Thubelihle Mthembu, who had been visiting for the weekend, and his aunt, Thembisile Dlamini (42), who had only arrived earlier in the afternoon, were killed in the devastation.

Emergency response

Several emergency services responded quickly, only to find twisted metal, shattered bricks, and a collapsed home.

Five people were rushed to hospital, including a critically injured 10-year-old child who had been trapped beneath the wreckage, two adults, and a six-month-old baby.

The search for the missing continued into the night under the glare of rescue lights.

As distraught family members and neighbours looked on, teams from the Pietermaritzburg Fire Department, SAPS Search and Rescue, and several private security and paramedic companies dug desperately through the debris.

Mi7 said:

“Two hours into the search, rescuers located the body of a six-year-old child trapped beneath the debris. A further two hours later, the body of an adult woman was recovered. Mi7 National Group EMS paramedics declared both victims dead at the scene.”

The driver of the tanker was also taken to hospital under police supervision.

Scene of grief

When The Witness visited the home yesterday morning, grief clung to the air.

Mabongi Dlamini, the mother of the deceased six-year-old, as well as of the injured infant, sat silently on a mattress at a relative’s house, her face marked with fresh wounds and tears.

She herself had been discharged from hospital only hours earlier — but tradition demanded she show strength and remain at the vigil.

Family members described how the tanker smashed through the kitchen and living room. Under the rubble, a crushed infant’s pram still lay — the baby’s survival was described as miraculous, given the devastation.

Neighbour Bongani Mchunu, who had been outside with Mabongi moments before the crash, recalled the desperate seconds.

“Instead of running to save herself, she ran into the house to warn her family and tell them to get out. That’s how she got trapped.”

Choking back tears, he added: “I saw the baby in the pram first and pulled it out. I then tried to get rubble off the aunt — but the six-year-old was under the truck, and I couldn’t get him out.”

‘They were inseparable’

Family member Busisiwe Ngubane spoke tenderly about the bond between Thubelihle and his aunt.

“They were like twins — joined at the hip. Thubelihle came over every weekend because both his parents had to work. He saw Thembisile as a mother figure — they were inseparable,” she said.

Clarifying some initial confusion around the type of vehicle involved in the crash, ward councillor Sanele Zuma told The Witness that the tanker was not a construction vehicle, but a drinking water tanker not allocated to the area.

He alleged the driver had taken a shortcut through the residential zone when he lost control.

Support underway

Zuma added that he had visited the family with the Msunduzi disaster management unit to assess the damage.

“The Human Settlements Department has been contacted to offer assistance. We are also waiting for a TLB to come and clear the debris. We are here to support the family and ensure that they are not alone during this difficult time,” he said.

Ngubane recalled that recently, both victims had medical casts from separate unrelated incidents — Thubelihle on his arm, Thembisile on her leg — and had leaned on each other during recovery.

“Thembisile loved cooking and helping people — at funerals and family gatherings, she would always take charge of the food. She had just started working at a crèche, teaching children, something she had a real passion for.”

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