Johannesburg - Two people have died and six others were injured, four seriously, in two separate road accidents in Gauteng and Mpumalanga on Christmas day, paramedics said on Saturday.
Two people sustained fatal injuries while four others sustained serious injuries in a two-vehicle collision on the R28 in Westonaria on the West Rand late on Friday night, ER24 spokesperson Ineke van Huyssteen said in a statement.
When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after 11.30pm, the Gauteng provincial emergency medical services (EMS) were already in attendance, she said.
"Upon further assessment, paramedics found two people who had sustained fatal injuries. Unfortunately nothing could be done for them and they were declared dead at the scene. Four others were found to have sustained serious injuries."
They were treated at the scene before being transported to hospital by ER24 and the Gauteng EMS. Three other people were found walking around at the scene, but they declined to be transported to hospital.
The exact circumstances surrounding the accident were not known to paramedics, but local authorities were on the scene to investigate, Van Huyssteen said.
In a separate statement earlier, ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said a man and a woman were injured early on Friday morning when their bakkie veered out of control and rolled on the R580 in Secunda in Mpumalanga.
ER24 paramedics arrived on the scene at 2.15am to find the bakkie on its roof on the side of the road. The man and the woman were found trapped in their vehicle. Rescue services had to use the jaws-of-life equipment to free them from the vehicle.
"Once released, medics assessed the patients and found that they had sustained moderate injuries. The patients were treated and thereafter transported to Evander Provincial Hospital for further care," Meiring said.
African News Agency (ANA)