Dense black smoke billowed into the night sky on the N3 after two trucks travelling towards Durban were involved in a rear-end collision and burst into flames on Tuesday night.
A Nissan truck rear-ended a Mercedes Benz truck at about 9pm. At the point of impact, the Nissan truck burst into flames and set the Mercedes-Benz on fire as well. The driver of the Nissan managed to get out before the flames engulfed the vehicle. The Nissan truck was carrying manganese and the Mercedes had a load of copper plates.
Traffic was backed up, with both the fast and slow lanes closed. An N3TC fire engine from Van Reenen contained the fire until Ladysmith firefighters arrived at the scene to put out the blaze. Ambulance services and RTI personnel were also on scene to control traffic. The fast lane was opened to traffic just after 11pm. By midnight, both lanes were open. The driver of one of the trucks sustained slight injuries. No other injuries were reported.
