Four killed in horrific North Coast crash
The Ilembe District on the north coast is waking up to tragic news this morning.
Four people have been killed in a horrific accident on the road to Ndwedwe after a truck crashed about 80 metres down an embankment.
Emergency services say they were called to the scene at about 7pm yesterday.
The exact cause of the crash is still unclear but it appears as if the truck, transporting seven people, veered off the main road and crashed down an embankment onto a smaller service road.
It then careened further down the embankment into thick bush.
IPSS Medical Rescue's Paul Herbst says some of the passengers were crushed by the vehicle when it overturned.
"We had a daunting task setting up the advanced rope rescue system to get down the embankment. With a massive slope to get down and all the bodies up as well as some of the victims," he said.
He says crews struggled under fading light to reach the wreckage.
"The fire department were set up there and had night lights on. Unfortunately, as we descended off the cliff and down the embankment, the light was negative there. So we battled with that. The area that we worked in was extremely bushy with big trees and and thick shrubbery," he said.
The three injured passengers were treated on scene and taken to hospital.
(Photos: IPSS Medical Rescue)