‘I saw my life flashing in front of my eyes’ – Durban motorists relive massive pile-up on M41

For safety reasons, people have been advised to stay away as the substance in the vehicle has been unconfirmed.

The truck lies a few metres away from the total carnage of Monday morning's crash.

The truck driver is believed to have lost control of the vehicle and rammed into slow-moving vehicles near the M4 on-ramp.

Around 50 vehicles were involved in the pile-up.

One of the motorists involved in the crash, Pakama Banti, says before the accident she saw the truck coming through her mirror.

READ: Pregnant woman airlifted from M41 crash scene

"As I was driving, I heard a sound, as I looked in my mirror the truck is hitting all the cars and hitting mine and going down. Your life is flashing in front of your eyes."

Nkanyiso Mdlalose says he was travelling from his office in Umhlanga when he saw a car in the air.

Mdlalose says he and his colleague ran to assist.

“There were two ladies who were stuck in the car because the jaws of life didn't arrive yet, we were worried that the car would catch fire, so we tried and helped pull her out."

Netcare 911’s Shawn Herbst was on his way to Umhlanga when he drove past the collision, and says he immediately jumped into action.

"When we first arrived on scene the first thing we noticed is that the vehicles were smoking. People were shouting at people who were trapped in the vehicles to get out. Further down the scene people were screaming and crying.”