Fifteen people were injured on Tuesday afternoon in a collision between a minibus taxi and two cars on the R56 between Richmond and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.
It appeared that at least two of the vehicles had hit head-on.
ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said paramedics, along with other services, arrived on the scene just after 1pm, and found the taxi and light motor vehicles in the middle of the road. All three had sustained serious damage, he said.
Meiring said upon closer inspection, paramedics discovered three patients trapped inside the taxi and one inside one of the cars. Several others were found walking around on the scene.
Rescue services had to use specialised rescue tools to free the trapped patients.
Once they had been freed, said Meiring, paramedics assessed the patients and found that two had sustained moderate injuries while 13 others had minor injuries.
The patients were treated and transported to various provincial hospitals.
Meiring said the local authorities were on the scene for further investigations.