UK tourists involved in a head on collision in KNP
Two bakkies were involved in a head on collision in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Thursday morning on the S60 gravel road about 3.8km away from Punda Maria Camp.
According to General Manager for Communications and Marketing at KNP, William Mabasa, one of the two bakkies was carrying three tourists from the United Kingdom (UK) while the other contained four local residents.
Two of the tourists were females and one was male. Mabasa said the two drivers and all passengers in both vehicles sustained injuries and were rushed to the nearest medical facility outside Punda Maria.
“We would like to appeal to tourists who visit the Park to please observe speed limit at all times, with extra attention on gravel surfaces in the Park, in order to avoid unnecessary accidents such as this one,” said Glenn Phillips, the Managing Executive of KNP.
Mabasa further said the UK tourists were airlifted for further treatment at a medical facility in Polokwane, whilst the locals were referred to the local hospital in Malamulele for further assistance. “The foreign tourists were overnight guests at a Lodge in the Makuleke Concession, in the far north of the Park,” said Mabasa.
He said in a strange twist of fate, but unrelated to the head-on collision, a contractor vehicle carrying some diesel overturned and fell at the low level bridge around Lower Sabie on Tuesday. “There was diesel spillage into the river and a company to immediately attend to the spill was appointed in order to avoid possible pollution to the environment,” he concluded.
