Bridge collapse shuts down N3 highway

During the early hours of Wednesday morning, a bridge collapse onto the N3 highway which resulted in a full road closure between Van Buuren Road and the M2 Geldenhuis Interchange.

The road is likely to be closed all day.

A female passenger survived after being trapped inside the cab for about two hours while rescue teams battled to extricate her out of the wreckage after the truck in which she was travelling crashed against the collapsed pedestrian bridge.

Emergency services said in a press release they received the call at 01.23am and both Bedfordview and Germiston Central fire station rescue teams swiftly responded for intervention.

Pictures: Twitter

“On arrival, it was found that four vehicles, three trucks and a sedan crashed into the concrete bridge lying across both the north- and south-bound sections of the freeway.

“A total of five patients were accounted for from all vehicles. Three patients from one truck were still trapped inside the cab and two other from other different vehicles escaped with minor injuries.

“Rescue teams had to use jaws of life to rescue those trapped inside the cab of one truck. The driver and a seven-year-old girl were transported to Bertha Gxowa hospital in Germiston in stable conditions while the adult female passenger was airlifted to Linmed hospital in critical condition.

“The driver of one other truck sustained stable injuries and was transported to Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Johannesburg while the fifth patient from a sedan sustained minor injuries and refused transportation.

“The actual cause for the bridge to collapse is still undetermined and investigations are under way,” added the statement.

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Motorists are advised to make use of alternative routes:

SOUTHBOUND:

From the Linksfield Caltex, turn left onto Civin Road
Turn left onto Van Der Linde Road and drive southeast
Turn right onto Van Buuren Road
Turn left onto Cleveland Road
Turn left onto Francois Oberholzer ramp.

NORTHBOUND:

Keep left onto the M2 and drive west
Turn right onto Cleveland Road and drive northeast
Turn right onto Jules street
Turn left onto Geldenhuis Road and drive northeast
Turn left onto Van Der Linde Road and drive north
Turn right onto Boeing Road West and drive northeast
Get onto Civin Drive and then turn right onto Club street