A truck and caravan were dramatically blown off the same bridge in South Africa by strong storm winds, terrifying footage shows.
Several regions in the country’s Western Cape were devastated by the storm over the weekend, with trees torn from the ground, branches falling dangerously onto built-up areas and roofs ripped off buildings.
Two particularly shocking incidents occurred on a bridge on the N1 motorway, near the Huguenot tunnel, about 40 kilometers east of Cape Town.
The clip from the first incident shows how a truck trailer was blown off the side of the bridge as drivers battled the powerful gusts.
Filmed by someone traveling in a vehicle behind the truck, another trailer can be seen on the road, already turned on its side.
Left: A tractor-trailer is seen being blown off a bridge in the Western Cape region of South Africa, which was hit by powerful storms over the weekend. Right: On Sunday, a caravan is seen disappearing along the shoulder of the same road, and other drivers lost control due to the wind.
Suddenly, the trailer of another truck behind the downed compartment begins to lean to one side near the edge of the bridge, being carried by the strong winds like a sail.
He wobbles once and then again, leaning completely over the bridge’s side barrier, flipping upside down, and falling over the side of the overpass.
As the clip cuts, people can be seen helping the truck that was already on its side on the road, taking shelter behind the overturned trailer.
A photograph taken later from the side of the bridge showed the trailer destroyed, with the goods it was carrying spilled into the ravine below.
In another, even more shocking video, supposedly taken from the same stretch of road on Sunday, you can see how the winds wreak more havoc on drivers.
As several cars exit a tunnel, they are seen being hit by strong winds that force them to cross the road, one of them on the left perpendicular to the road.
While another SUV is seen with its emergency lights flashing, swerving to avoid the debris, a caravan is seen caught by the victory and dragged to the edge of the bridge.
As in the first clip, the winds are so strong that the caravan is caught in the gust, flipped over and swept over the side, disappearing from view.
Miraculously, reports from South Africa said there were no deaths or serious injuries in any of the incidents. In the first, three minor injuries were reported.
A tree is blown down by strong winds in South Africa
Fallen trees seen blocking road in storm-hit South Africa
In both clips it appeared that the two vehicles that fell off the bridge were being towed and therefore no one was inside at the time.
Due to extreme weather, the bridge was closed for several hours on Sunday, but then reopened.
IOL reported that South Africa’s weather services are issuing a level 9 storm warning for the Overberg, Cape Winelands and Helderberg areas on Monday, forcing schools in the region to close.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said: “We have taken the decision to close all schools in the Overberg, Cape Winelands and Helderberg areas tomorrow.”
Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said most of the major climate impacts have been related to wind.
He said roofs had been torn off in several regions, adding that in one area the fire destroyed at least nine properties and caused rockfalls along a main road.
The videos of vehicles knocked off the bridge come less than two weeks after a horror bus accident in South Africa, in which a bus plunged from a bridge into a ravine before bursting into flames, leaving 45 dead and only one survivor. , an eight-year-old boy. -old.
The bus driver lost control of the vehicle on March 28 and crashed into bridge barriers in the northeastern province of Limpopo, according to the Ministry of Transport.
It landed on a rocky surface about 50 meters below the bridge, known as the Mamatlakala Pass, before bursting into flames.
Firefighters at the scene of a bus accident on the R518 in the Waterberg district of Limpopo
Images show the remains of the bus in flames after falling from the bridge
Black smoke engulfed the passenger bus and firefighters were photographed at the scene.
The bus fell into a ravine after the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the bridge barriers.
Search operations continued well into the night on Thursday, the provincial government said.
The passenger bus was carrying pilgrims from neighboring Botswana to Moria, a town in Limpopo, for an Easter weekend church service.
All but one of the vehicle’s occupants, including the driver, died. The boy, the only survivor, was seriously injured and is receiving treatment in hospital.
Search operations continued well into the night on Thursday, the provincial government said, but many bodies were burned beyond recognition and were still trapped inside the rubble.
The bus had a Botswana license plate, local authorities said, but the nationalities of the passengers were still being checked.