Crashed car falls from bridge onto cables

Five people died after the car they were in fell off a bridge onto electrical cables and was engulfed in flames.

Durban - Five people died in an accident on the N11 highway in the Uthukela district, near Pepworth, KwaZulu-Natal emergency medical services (EMS) said on Saturday.

The car they were travelling in allegedly crashed onto a bridge before falling onto railway electrical cables below and catching alight early on Saturday morning, EMS spokesman Robert Mckenzie said in a statement.

When emergency services arrived on scene the car was still burning and the fire had to be extinguished by the fire department.

EMS paramedics, together with paramedics from several private ambulance services, the fire department, and officers from the RTI and police department, responded to the crash at about 1am, he said.

Paramedics on scene said the initial identification of the victims were two adult woman estimated to be about 35 years old, a man estimated to be about the same age, and two children, a boy of about seven years old and a girl about 10 years old.

Emergency services worked on the scene for several hours and only finished just before sunrise. The cause of the crash was not known at this stage and would be investigated by police.

“As KZN EMS we would like to send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victims,” Mckenzie said.

ANA