Hot night for newlyweds who survive fire as Kombi catches alight after their wedding

28 September 2021 - 06:00
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Firefighters try to put out a VW Kombi that caught fire soon after the newly married couple driving it left their wedding reception in Johannesburg on Saturday night.
Firefighters try to put out a VW Kombi that caught fire soon after the newly married couple driving it left their wedding reception in Johannesburg on Saturday night.
Image: Courtesy Netcare911

It was a hot night for a newly married couple, but not in the way they may have hoped, as the Volkswagen Kombi they were travelling in from their wedding venue to their B&B burst into flames.

“But they weren’t hurt, everything’s OK. The only thing they didn’t manage to save before the whole thing exploded was the bride’s veil,” said Oriet Elinhorn, an eyewitness who saw the burning vehicle on the side of the road.

Andre Snyman of eBlockwatch said he and his wife were out walking near their home in Bryanston, Johannesburg, on Saturday morning when they saw the white Kombi, resplendent with floral designs on it, travelling past them, with its occupants dressed in white.

“It was sputtering and backfiring, and we actually joked that if it was a bunch of people off to a wedding, they’re definitely not going to make it home,” he told TimesLIVE.

The Kombi in which a newly married couple left their wedding reception stands burnt out on Witkoppen Road in Northriding.
The Kombi in which a newly married couple left their wedding reception stands burnt out on Witkoppen Road in Northriding.
Image: Netcare911

The fire happened at 7pm on Witkoppen Road in Northriding. The couple were travelling in the classic 1967 Kombi, which they had borrowed from the father of the groom’s best friend, when it suddenly caught fire.

Elinhorn, who works for a large-scale printer company, had been putting in long hours at the office and she and her partner were on their way home when they saw the Kombi in flames.

“My other half just loves cars and he recognised the Kombi as a classic and told me, ‘That’s not just a taxi, that’s somebody’s much loved vehicle.’

“I used to date a paramedic and I love helping people. So we stopped and my first reaction was to call 082-911,” she said, adding that the Kombi was standing alone with no other vehicles or people nearby.

“Apparently they had been waiting there for help to arrive for about half an hour, 45 minutes. And while we were there it just started exploding,” said Elinhorn.

She said the couple were assisted by people in another car, who had also come from the wedding.

Firefighter and paramedic Malcolm Midgley, who has seen similar instances of vehicles catching alight, said in his experience some older VW Kombis and station wagons with similar engines were known to occasionally catch fire because of a problem with the old-style fuel injection system.

TimesLIVE


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