Seven detainees injured after police truck overturns on R56 near Richmond in KZN
ALS Paramedics and other emergency crews respond to the scene where a police truck transporting detainees overturned on the R56 near Richmond.
Image: Supplied
Seven prison detainees were injured on Monday morning when a South African Police Service (SAPS) truck transporting them from Pietermaritzburg to Kokstad overturned on the R56 near the Eston turnoff between Richmond and Ixopo.
Emergency responders from ALS Paramedics’ Hibiscus Cato Ridge Operation were among the first on the scene following multiple calls for urgent assistance just after 10am.
ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said paramedics arrived on the scene to find that a SAPS vehicle transporting detainees had somehow lost control and rolled, coming to rest on its roof.
“A total of seven passengers had sustained various injuries and were stabilized on the scene by ALS Paramedics and multiple other ambulance services before all of the inmates were transported to a nearby hospital.”
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the vehicle had been en-route from Pietermaritzburg to Kokstad when it struck a guard rail and overturned.
“Police are currently standing off at the scene of an accident where a police truck carrying detainees from Pietermaritzburg to Kokstad hit the guard rail and capsized on the R56 road in the Richmond area on Monday morning,” said Netshiunda.
He confirmed that both detainees and officers sustained injuries but that the scene was under control.
“The truck was being escorted by four police vehicles, and the accident scene has been secured, ensuring that detainees remain in custody,” he said.
The cause of the crash is not yet known, and police are investigating into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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