Cape Town - Two people died and eight others were injured on Tuesday after a bakkie and a car collided head-on on Mitchell’s Pass between Worcester and Ceres.
Western Cape Government Health spokeswoman Jo-Anne Otto said nine patients were taken to Ceres Hospital. One person died at the scene.
“One male passed away at the scene and a female patient passed away on arrival at the hospital.
“Three male patients, the youngest being 16 years of age, were stabilised and transferred to Worcester Hospital for further treatment and surgery,” Otto said.
A further four patients were treated and later discharged from Ceres Hospital.
ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring said paramedics and Metro Rescue arrived on the scene and found both vehicles on the side of the road.
He said both the bakkie and the car were write-offs.
“On inspection, paramedics found one man lying trapped inside the bakkie while a man and woman lay trapped inside the light motor vehicle.
“All three of these patients were found in a critical condition,” he said.
“Seven other patients were found on the scene, three of them seriously injured, while the four others had sustained minor to moderate injuries.
“Rescue technicians from the Metro Services had to use specialised rescue equipment to free the three trapped patients from the vehicles.”
Meiring said paramedics treated all the patients once they were freed and provided the critically and seriously injured with advanced life-support interventions.
He said the cause of the collision was unknown and the matter would be investigated.
Cape Argus and African News Agency