The scene of the accident on the N12 close to the Watermeyer Street turnoff was eventually cleared after midnight.
Recovery efforts were a major operation, with Van Wettens Towing Services deploying two rigs to get the truck back on its wheels.

Preliminary investigations show that the truck’s front wheel burst and the driver lost control.
The driver was taken to hospital and according to information, he is doing well.

The truck was carrying a load of bananas that lay all over the road.
Chaos erupted with a loot frenzy as the community scrambled over to the truck and started grabbing bananas.

A truck overturned close to the Watermeyer Street off-ramp.
With bananas strewn over the road, people started looting.
This resulted in chaos, leaving traffic backed up for kilometers.#witbanknews #looting #witbank pic.twitter.com/3sV0f2ZrSr

— WitbankNews (@WitbankN) February 11, 2026

“It was total chaos. People with bags filled with bananas, some with bananas stuffed in their shirts and pockets ran over the road without even looking where they were going,” Tom Barkley, who was stuck in the traffic, said.

The highway remained obstructed for several hours as authorities worked to manage the crowd and clear the debris.

SEE THE VIDEOS HERE: 

@witbanknews A truck overturned close to the Watermeyer Street off-ramp. With bananas strewn over the road, people started looting. This resulted in chaos, leaving traffic backed up for kilometers. #witbanktiktok #Witbanknews #emalahleni #fyp #n12 ♬ original sound – witbanknews

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