Six people were seriously injured early on Tuesday morning in an accident along the N1 south, just outside of Makhado (Louis Trichardt).

All six, who were travelling in a bakkie, were on their way to town. They were about 10km from town when their bakkie crashed into the back of a truck.  

The driver of the truck, according to information available, told police that the driver of the bakkie lost control when one of the bakkie’s tyres ruptured and he could not regain control of the vehicle.

Passengers who were seated on the back of the bakkie, which had a canopy, suffered severe head injuries.  Two more occupants of the bakkie (one of them presumably the driver) were also flung from the wreck. Rescue workers found them lying in the bushes next to the road.

The driver of the truck and his passenger were not injured in the accident. The six critically injured bakkie passengers were rushed to the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital. At the time of going to press, they were still in a critical condition.