A holiday in the Kruger National Park (KNP) ended in tragedy when an accident claimed the lives of five people on the road between the Phalaborwa entrance gate and the Mopani rest camp in the Park on Thursday November 29, 2007.
It is believed that the accident took place at about 16h45. A KNP official’s wife found the disorientated driver of the vehicle at the accident scene, a single causeway across the Letaba River, and took him to the Nxanatseni south regional ranger’s office at the Phalaborwa gate complex, arriving there at about 18h40.
Regional ranger, Louis Olivier, took the driver to the Phalaborwa hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and shock. In the meantime, Kruger rangers and emergency services from the Phalaborwa disaster management services rushed to the scene.
“It is believed that the driver of the vehicle, a rented Landrover, ‘miscalculated’ the approach to the causeway, overcorrected and hit the side of the bridge, flipping over and landing on its roof in the water below,” said Raymond Travers, spokesperson for the KNP.