With heavy rain and hail lashing southern parts of Gauteng, taxi passengers, among others, escaped serious injury on Friday afternoon after the roof of a service station collapsed on three vehicles in Vereeniging.
JOHANNESBURG – With heavy rain and hail lashing southern parts of Gauteng, taxi passengers, among others, escaped serious injury on Friday afternoon after the roof of a service station collapsed on three vehicles in Vereeniging.
The incident occurred at about 13.50pm off Seeiso Road in Sharpville, said ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring in a statement. Luckily, only two men in their twenties sustained minor injuries.
’’At approximately 13h50, ER24 paramedics arrived on the scene to find that a roof of a service station had collapsed on a small bus, a taxi and a light motor vehicle. The drivers and passengers had taken refuge in the nearby shop,’’ Meiring said.
’’Medics assessed the patients and found that two men, believed to be in their twenties, had sustained only minor injuries. Fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalities were found.
’’The patients were treated and thereafter transported to Kopanong Provincial Hospital for further care.
’’It is believed that the heavy rains and hail played a contributing factor in the cause of the collapse. Local authorities were on the scene for further investigations.“
There were also reports of flooding at Midvaal Hospital in Three Rivers and a shopping mall, with multiple reports of areas under water in parts of southern Gauteng.
The SA Weather Service (SAWS) yesterday issued a warning of thunder showers across Gauteng on Friday afternoon.
The SAWS said scattered thunder showers would occur in the southern regions of Gauteng, namely Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and surrounding areas.
Isolated thunder showers are expected in northern parts of the province as well, which include Bronkhorstspruit, Centurion, Pretoria, Midrand and other areas.
The weather might persist throughout the rest of the weekend.
North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal are also likely to experience thunder showers, the SAWS said.
It also cautioned that the thunder showers could bring the possibility of localised flooding in low-lying areas and the risk of damage to cars on the roads as well as critical infrastructure.
