[DURBAN, KZN – 08 FEBRUARY 2013]
Incident Time: 15H00
One person has been killed, eight others are in a critical condition and the remaining eight have sustained serious injuries after a bus and a taxi collided at the intersection of Inanda and Newlands West Drive just outside of Durban this afternoon.
ER24 paramedics and other emergency personnel arrived on the scene and found the bus with extensive damage to the driver’s side and half way across the intersection. The taxi was found a few meters away from the bus on the opposite side of the pavement with extensive damage to the drivers side going down the taxi.
Emergency personnel assessed the patients and found that the driver of the taxi was entrapped. The Jaws of Life and other rescue equipment was used to extricate the patient from the vehicle while Advanced Life Support intervention was performed on the patient. One child believed to be age seven was declared deceased on scene and was still inside the taxi at the time.
Eight patients needed Advanced Life Support intervention due to the injuries they had sustained in the accident. Five of them were placed on a ventilator to help them breath. The remaining eight patients were treated for suspected neck and back injuries. One patient was airlifted to hospital by the Department of Health Air Mercy Medicopter while the remaining patients were transported to nearby hospitals for further medical care.
All necessary authorities were on scene and would investigate the accident further. Most of the injured were school children.
Derrick Banks, ER24
