NATIONAL NEWS - One person has been declared dead on the scene, while two were seriously injured, and another escaped serious injury, when a truck transporting acid crashed in the deadly Kranspoort Pass near Loskop Dam in Mpumalanga yesterday afternoon.
The entire cargo of acid being transported by the truck was spilled.
The N11 was closed for several hours to salvage the wreckage of the truck and clean the acid spill, causing major traffic disruptions.
The damage caused by the acid is yet to be determined, but is believed to be extensive, polluting nearby game farms and streams.
Van Wettens towing services were on the scene.
According to Louwtjie Swart of Van Wettens the cargo was sulphuric acid.
The identity of the person killed, has not yet been made public.
• The fatal accident comes just over a month after Abubakr Akoo (41) was killed in a similar accident in the mountain pass on August 25, with several non-fatal accidents where trucks lost control, happening in-between. Akoo was travelling from Louis Trichardt to New Castle to visit family when his car was crushed by a truck, also carrying sulphuric acid.
• Community members have fought an almost three-year-long battle with SANRAL over the high volume of accidents, particularly truck accidents, that continue to occur on the deadly route.
