Durban – Five people have been confirmed dead in Durban while scores of others have been injured in several accidents around Durban and Cape Town, paramedics said on Saturday.

Three women and a man died when the taxi they were travelling in collided with a truck on the along the N2 just before the Spaghetti Junction in Durban on Saturday at about 06:00, said Ceron Lennox, Rescue Care spokesperson.

“One person was in a critical condition and Advanced Life Support stabilised her and placed her on a manual ventilator before she was airlifted to a nearby awaiting hospital in a critical condition,” Lennox said.

More ambulances were called to the scene as there were another 14 people who had been moderately injured in the collision which were stabilised on scene before being transported to nearby hospitals for the necessary definitive care they required, she added.

A pedestrian, in his 30s, died on the N3 near the M13 in Durban after he was hit by a vehicle.

Head-on collision

Paramedics were called to the scene at about 08:30 and they found the pedestrian lying in the fast lane of the highway.

“While paramedics were loading the critically injured man into the helicopter, his vital signs deteriorated. Despite the continued efforts of the medical crew, he later succumbed to his injuries on scene,” said Werner Vermaak, spokesperson for ER24.

The occupants of the vehicle that hit him did not sustain any physical injuries, he said.

Twelve people were injured when a taxi and a car collided head on, on the R103 near Cato Ridge, Durban, at about 06:00.

ER24 and other services arrived on the scene where they found a taxi wedged into a tree next to the road.

“Eleven people were found with minor injuries and another person was found with moderate injuries which included possible back and neck injuries,” Vermaak said.

In Cape Town, five people, including an 11-year-old girl, sustained various injuries when two vehicles collided on Jakes Gerwel Drive in Bonteheuwel at about 08:00 on Saturday, said Vermaak.

On Friday night, six people sustained minor to moderate injuries when a taxi and a car collided on the M19 near the R304 in Melkbosstrand, he said.

“At approximately 08:30, an off duty ER24 paramedic was on her way home when she came across the collision. Upon assessment, she found that the taxi overturned during the collision,” Vermaak said.

Two people sustained moderate injuries while four other sustained minor injuries. The injured were treated on scene and later transported to a nearby hospital, he added.