Tipper truck catches fire on N2, disrupts traffic flow
TRAFFIC flow on the N2 was disrupted yesterday morning when a truck caught fire just past the Beacon Bay off-ramp.
The tipper truck, which apparently belongs to an East London construction company, was loaded with sand and had been travelling from Gonubie to Wilsonia when it caught fire.
The driver of the truck said it was just before 8am when a motorist flagged him down and alerted him to the fact that the back of the truck was on fire.
“I immediately pulled over to the side of road and when I got out I saw flames,” said the driver, who declined to give his name.
Firefighters were sent to the scene around 8.10am and took about three minutes to extinguish the blaze.
According to a firefighter on the scene, the fire started when a tyre caught alight and had spread to other tyres when they arrived.
Arrive Alive spokesman Tshepo Machaea said he was alerted to the the incident by a motorist just after after 8am.
“Traffic was disrupted for a few minutes as vehicles backed up while the firefighters were busy putting out the fire.
“After the fire was out traffic continued to flow normally,” said Machaea. — arethal@dispatch.co.za.