PORT ST JOHNS- Patients and emergency personnel were reportedly trapped after an Eastern Cape Department of Health ambulance rolled on the R61 between Mthatha and Port St Johns and rolled down an embankment.
The incident was reported on Sunday evening, although the date and circumstances of the crash still require confirmation.
According to reports by Newzroom Afrika, the ambulance was travelling from Mthatha towards Port St Johns when it rolled, several metres below the roadway.
Emergency personnel worked on the steep embankment to reach the occupants of the wrecked vehicle.
Video footage from the scene showed rescuers using ropes to move between the road and the crash site.Initial reports indicated that at least one person believed to be a Department of Health employee had been brought up from the embankment, while rescuers continued efforts to reach other occupants.
Patients removed from the wreckage were receiving medical attention at the scene. Footage showed one person receiving an intravenous drip and another with apparent facial injuries.
The number of people travelling in the ambulance, the extent of their injuries and the circumstances surrounding the crash had not been officially confirmed at the time of publication.The cause of the crash remains unknown. The circumstances will need to be established through an investigation by the relevant authorities.
The Eastern Cape Department of Health and other relevant authorities had yet to provide an official account in the information available to this publication.Eastern Cape Daily News will update this report once further details have been confirmed.
Courtesy of IMAGES: Supplied
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