Large plane crashes in South Africa, causing injuries

Photo of author

By BNO NEWS

A large plane has crashed in a field in the South African city of Pretoria, injuring at least 20 people, witnesses and emergency services say. Only few details were immediately available.

The accident happened at about 4:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday when the aircraft went down on Moloto Road in the Wonderboom area of Pretoria, a city in Gauteng Province.

A spokesperson for ambulance service ER24 said at least 20 people had been injured, but emergency services were still working at the scene. At least one of the victims was being airlifted to hospital in critical condition.

“ER24 paramedics, along with several other services, are currently on the scene treating and triaging the patients,” said Russel Meiring, a spokesman for ER24. “Initial reports show that approximately 20 people had sustained injuries ranging from minor to critical.”

Meiring added: “Paramedics are treating the patients and will thereafter transport them to nearby hospital for further treatment. The ER24 Oneplan Helicopters are currently on the scene to airlift any critical patients to hospital.”

There was no official word on the type of aircraft or the number of people on board, but it appears to be an old aircraft from the Dutch airline Martinair, which was known as Martin’s Air Charter until 1966.

(Copyright 2017 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Images Courtesy of DepositPhotos