Twenty-one workers were rushed to various hospitals after the bakkie they were travelling in crashed outside Klapmuts on Tuesday evening.
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A video shared on Facebook captured paramedics attending to the injured passengers, some of whom were lying on the grass while others sat up, awaiting assistance.
The bakkie was found overturned, wedged between wire fencing, with its canopy crushed and scattered some distance from the vehicle.
According to IOL, it is still unknown where the bakkie came from and whether the workers were employed in the construction or agricultural industries.
Western Cape Health Department spokesperson Byron La Hoe said the accident happened on the N1.
Three patients were in serious condition.
‘Patients were transported to Tygerberg, Paarl, Eersterivier and Karl Bremer Hospitals,’ he said.
A preliminary report indicates that a tyre burst may have caused the crash, though a full investigation is currently underway.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called for an urgent resolution to workers’ transportation issues in rural areas.
Cosatu provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn said that 21 passengers in a bakkie was a recipe for disaster.
‘We will reach out to the Labour Department and find out what happened and what measures will be put in place and deal with the matter.’
‘We can’t wait for more deaths before they decide to deal and act against employers who think our workers can travel on a bakkie or a truck.’
De Bruyn adds that, if need be, Cosatu will campaign against employers who are still making use of bakkies and trucks to transport employees.
‘It’s shameful what they are doing to these workers who are desperate for work. They are treated like animals.’
De Bruyn expressed hope that the Government of National Unity (GNU) talks would conclude soon, allowing them to identify the new minister of labour.
‘They have done nothing in this province to deal with the transportation of workers.’
A video shared on Facebook captured paramedics attending to the injured workers.
Some of the injured workers were lying on the grass while others sat up, awaiting assistance.
The bakkie was found overturned, wedged between wire fencing, with its canopy crushed and scattered some distance from the vehicle.
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Picture: Arrive Alive
