Home News Horror R31 accident video is fake news – police

Horror R31 accident video is fake news – police

1317

The police in the Northern Cape have warned the public against spreading fake news about a horror accident that supposedly happened on the R31 road between Barkly West and Kimberly, reportedly on Wednesday morning.

A post circulating on social media of an accident of a similar nature that purportedly happened a week ago near Worcester. Picture: Facebook

THE POLICE in the Northern Cape have warned the public against spreading fake news about a horror accident that supposedly happened on the R31 road between Barkly West and Kimberley, reportedly on Wednesday morning.

The Barkly West police confirmed on Wednesday that no accident took place on the R31 bridge between Barkly West to Kimberley.

This follows after a video was circulated on social media of a horrific accident, where bodies were lying scattered on the road while others were trapped in vehicles after a taxi reportedly crashed into a truck, that supposedly happened on the R31 on Wednesday morning.

The uncovered faces of the deceased were visible in the video, while body parts were also seen strewn around the accident scene.

The news about the “accident” apparently sent the police and emergency services (EMS) on a wild goose chase, looking for the accident scene on the R31.

Police spokesperson Captain Bashoabile Kale said the video is fake news.

He said no accident on the R31 had been reported to the Kimberley station or to radio control (10111) in the past 24 hours.

Kale said the police in Barkly West had been inundated with calls on Wednesday from members of the public, who enquired about the gruesome accident on the Barkly West bridge.

A source at the Northern Cape Department of Health said that a team from the department’s emergency services (EMS) was dispatched at around 8am on Wednesday.

“The EMS teams patrolled the road looking for the accident but nothing of that nature was found and the road was never closed due to an accident,” said the source.

The police have called on all people circulating the video of the accident to stop doing so as it is fake news and also creates unnecessary panic among road users.

“This [fake news] also sends unnecessary deployment of both police and ambulance resources to scenes that are non-existent,” Kale pointed out.

The Northern Cape Department of Health did not comment.

Meanwhile, a Facebook post also emerged, where an accident of a similar nature was reported to have happened on November 5 in Kanetvlei between Worcester and De Doorns, with multiple fatalities reported.

The police could, however, not confirm whether an accident of this nature had taken place.

Previous articleHealth dept probing assault of SA medical students in Cuba
Next articleDA tackling coalition process ’carefully’ – Steenhuisen