Cape Town – A head-on collision between a truck and a double-cab bakkie led to the Huguenot Tunnel, near Paarl, being closed in both directions around 2pm on Monday.
The driver of the truck is in a serious condition and was trapped in the vehicle, with emergency personnel and traffic officials attending to the scene.
According to reports, five people were injured in the collision. The truck driver had been on his way to Cape Town and the driver of the bakkie was travelling in the opposite direction, said Western Cape Traffic chief Kenny Africa.
"The tunnel is closed. Motorists should please use the old Du Toit's Kloof Pass," said Africa.
It's expected that the tunnel will only be reopened around 7pm after contractors had to be called in to repair the damage, said Sanral.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/crash?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#crashHugenote tunnel still closed due to an earlier crash. Use alternative routes. Via Du Toitskloof-pass.. @BOSBEER2006 @1SecondLater @EWNTraffic @netstartraffic @SALTruckers @_ArriveAlive @capetraffic @SANRAL_za pic.twitter.com/OufaFeLZE4
— BOSBEER.COM (@BOSBEER2006)
In 2003, a woman was killed when her vehicle collided head-on with a truck inside the Huguenot tunnel at 7.30am. The driver of the truck was not injured.
In 2017, five people were injured, three of them critically, when a light delivery vehicle and car collided head-on near the Huguenot Tunnel.
Paramedics found two men trapped inside the delivery vehicle while a third man was found on the ground a short distance away.
In April last year, extremely strong winds disrupted traffic between Paarl and Worcester after a heavy-duty truck was blown over just outside the Huguenot Tunnel.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Road_Closure?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Road_Closuredue to a crash inside the Huguenot Tunnel, N1 outbound closed at Toll Plaza and inbound before Huguenot Tunnel , use alternate route. . #BoozeFreeRoads pic.twitter.com/qcuwj9fcMU
— Cape Town FMS (@CapeTownFreeway)