Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has reported that the death toll in the N3 crash has risen to six after one victim succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
The department gave an update on the death toll after the Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, KZN Transport MEC Sipho Hlomuka, the Road Traffic Management Corporation, South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and KZN provincial traffic authorities visited the crash scene on the N3 between Hilton and Cedara.
Chikunga was expected to assess the level of damage and progress made in order to re-open the highway to traffic.
Chikunga was briefed by investigators and also received an engineering report from Sanral, which stated that the road where the accident occurred is in a good condition.
Five people were confirmed to have died at the scene after a 41-car pile-up which involved 22 light motor vehicles, eight minibus taxis and five trucks on Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, the provincial Department of Transport said all was in order on KZN roads for now. However, the truckers lane is closed at Peter Brown Drive on the northbound freeway because of diesel spillage and two lanes were operational.
On Monday night, the department announced the re-opening of the N3 between Hilton and Cedara after hours of being closed after the multivehicle crash.
Hlomuka said: “We acknowledge the magnitude of this horrific accident and the trauma felt by all those involved is unbearable. We once again wish to send our deepest condolences to all the affected families and wish a speedy recovery to all those who sustained injuries. Some motorists have been stuck for hours and lost a lot of time in traffic. We wish to salute all the emergency response teams for a job well done under such unfavourable weather conditions.
“As provincial authorities, we are hugely disappointed with the fatal crashes recorded during this Easter weekend. We appeal to those who will be continuing with their journey and those who are still going to embark to be on high alert and ensure maximum adherence to traffic regulations,” Hlomuka said.
More in the Daily News on Wednesday.
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