Child dies after bakkie full of schoolchildren crashes

15 August 2017 - 14:10 By Alex Patrick
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Six critical patients were airlifted by the South African Air Force‚ using an Oryx helicopter.
Six critical patients were airlifted by the South African Air Force‚ using an Oryx helicopter.
Image: IPSS Medical Rescue

A teenager has died after a bakkie full of schoolchildren crashed at around 8am on Tuesday morning.

The scholar was one of 17 children crammed into the vehicle when it lost control on a rural road between Mandini and Eshowi‚ in KwaZulu-Natal‚

IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson Paul Herbst said the 14-year-old boy was found dead on the scene and that six other children were critically injured.

The wreckage of the bakkie.
The wreckage of the bakkie.
Image: IPSS Medical Rescue

The critical patients had to be airlifted to hospital because of the conditions of the roads.

“Owing to the severity of the injuries and accessibility (to the scene)‚ the six critical patients were airlifted by the South African Air Force‚ using an Oryx helicopter‚“ Herbst said.

Air Mercy Services assisted with airlifting patients to Ngwelezana Hospital in Empangeni.

The moderately injured children were transported by road to hospital for further care.

The accident occurred almost two hours away from the nearest hospital.

Air Mercy Services assisted with airlifting patients to Ngwelezana Hospital.
Air Mercy Services assisted with airlifting patients to Ngwelezana Hospital.
Image: IPSS Medical Rescue

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