Residents had to come to the aid of motorists after their cars got stuck during a sandstorm in Villiersdorp in the Overberg region in the Western Cape on Sunday morning.
Local resident and member of the community policing forum (CPF) Khell van der Lith said the storm hit the area at around 10am on Sunday.
Lith said they received a call on their community group to say that there were road closures and sand lying on the R43 between Grabouw and Villiersdorp.
"I decided to go and assist to see if there is anything that we could do."
He said on his way to the area, he "encountered strong winds" and alerted other CPF members to contact the police and traffic department to close the roads.
On his arrival he found two vehicles stuck in the sand.
Lith used a tow strap to pull the one car out of the sand.
"The driver of the second car left with the key to get help from Villiersdorp. While I was on scene, another vehicle, a white Lexus also got stuck while passing me. I pulled him out as well."
Lith said when the driver of the taxi returned with the key, CPF chair Marius de Lange helped him pull the taxi out of the sand.
Police later arrived to direct traffic.
The SA Weather Service (SAWS) said a warning of "extremely high fire conditions" over the Western Cape was issued due to the hot and dry weather conditions.
The SAWS said strong gale-force winds might have triggered the sand storms in the area.
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