9 People were killed; more than 10 are in a critical condition. Photo: ER24

Emergency rescue staff had their work cut out for them on Saturday night. Multiple accidents occurred on the roads of the Western Cape, of which the bus accident outside Touwsrivier was the worst.

Touwsriver, 2 am, ‘people scattered over the road’
At least nine people were killed and more than ten were left in a critical condition after a bus overturned on the N1 approximately 10 kilometres outside Touwsriver, reports ER24.

According to ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak paramedics arrived on the scene around 2 am. The scene was chaotic with the bus lying on its side, partially in a veldt next to the road. “Several people were scattered across the road’s surface. Some of the people were trapped inside the bus. Some of them were severely trapped and special rescue equipment had to be used to free them. Paramedics and fire fighters were extricating critically injured patients from the bus well until after 5 am.” Vermaak says that 31 patients had already been removed to nearby facilities by local emergency services and at least 20 others were still found on the scene with various injuries.

Table View: Community Medics attended to multiple patients. Photo: Community Medics

Table View, sometime during the night, multiple patients
Community Medics treated multiple patients on the corner of Blaauwberg Road and Jansens Road after an accident in which multiple vehicles were involved. 9 Patients with moderate injuries were taken to hospital.

M5, Maitland, 7 am, a taxi overturned
Early this morning a taxi overturned several times on the M5 in Maitland, Cape Town. According to an ER24 spokesperson paramedics from ER24, Metro EMS and other emergency services arrived on the scene around 7 am. ‘They found the taxi standing in a veldt next to the highway. All of its occupants were ejected from the taxi. One person was found with fatal injuries and declared dead on the scene.

The minibus taxi. Photo: ER24

Three people were found with critical injuries. One of them was placed on life support on the scene. Four others sustained serious injuries while the rest of the patients sustained minor to moderate injuries. The driver was the only occupant trapped inside of the vehicle. Metro EMS had to use rescue equipment to free him from the wreckage.”