Two die in Swazi border pile-up

James Hall
The safety of the busiest border crossing between South Africa and Swaziland is being evaluated in the aftermath of last week’s fatal seven-vehicle pile up at Oshoek/Ngwenya border post. Two South African truck drivers lost their lives, another was critically injured and taken to Johannesburg for treatment, and ten other people suffered injuries when a truck transporting five tons of maize from South Africa lost control on its approach to the border post.
The truck sped past the South African immigration and customs offices, crashed through a gate dividing the countries, and slammed into the rear of a truck in a queue awaiting customs inspection on the Swazi side. The drivers of both vehicles died. The struck truck was propelled forward into another truck in a chain reaction that involved two buses and three cars.
Safety inspectors from the Ministry of Transportation say the steep gradient of the highway descending to the border post on the South African side presents a hazard. It is possible the truck’s brakes failed. The Oshoek border post is heavily utilised by commercial traffic from Gauteng entering Swaziland.
The accident occurred a half-hour before the post’s 22:00 closing time, and it is possible the driver might have been speeding to beat the closing time. The road transport and tourism industries have long called for the border post to become a 24-hour facility. Last week’s accident has prompted renewed calls for extended hours.