Johannesburg - Three people died on Friday, and three other people were injured in a head-on collision between a SUV and a car on the N2 near Zinkwazi, paramedics said.
Rescue Care spokesperson Paul Herbst said that a British family, in South Africa on holiday and on their way back from a safari holiday, were involved in the accident.
"Its believed that a driver of an H100 was travelling North on the N2 when it had a blowout. The driver stopped in the fast lane. A driver of a Mercedes Benz was also travelling North and allegedly swerved to avoid the H100 and went into the oncoming lane. A Toyota Fortuner travelling south collided head on with the Mercedes Benz," Herbst said.
"The driver of the Mercedes Benz, unfortunately, died shortly after the arrival of paramedics. A 12-year-old girl who was travelling in the SUV with her family was aslo declared dead on arrival of IPSS paramedics. The father, mother and older brother all sustained critical injuries and all three patients were airlifted to Lenmed Ethekweni hospital, with the assistance of IPSS/Black Eagle aeromedical helicopter and KZN provincial aeromedical service (AIMS)."
Herbst said that the driver of the SUV was entrapped in the wreckage and required KDM fire department to use the jaws-of-life to free him, before he was transported to hospital.
"Unfortunately the mother succumbed to her injuries shortly after arrival at the hospital."
The police were not immediately available to comment.