TRICKY SALVAGE
It took three specialised tow trucks to salvage a truck and two tanks transporting cider vinegar, which ploughed into shacks in Shallcross yesterday. Residents began looting the liquid, mistakenly believing it was wine. For more pictures and video, go to The Mercury’s Facebook page.
IT TOOK more than seven hours to salvage a truck that ploughed into three informal dwellings, causing chaos on the roads in Chatsworth yesterday.
Two pedestrians and the driver escaped with moderate injuries, and there was no one in the shacks that were destroyed when the truck veered off the road, ripping off traffic barriers before crashing down the embankment on to the homes.
Mfundo Mgqideni was sleeping when he heard the screeching sound. He didn’t know that it was a truck on the M1 Higginson Highway with the driver seemingly having lost control.
“I sat up in bed, trying to determine what it was but I could hear it getting close and moving fast. I knew it was too late for me, I thought of my wife and kids and closed my eyes and waited for it to hit,” he said.
Fortunately, it shaved part of the corrugated iron roof and side wall of his home, leaving him shocked but unharmed. The truck flattened two neighbouring shacks before stopping on the slope.
Among the first on the scene was Nhlanhla Khoza. After ensuring his friend Mgqideni was safe, he rushed to the truck.
“We climbed on to the truck and found the driver in the cab bleeding on his face and head.”
Khoza said he and other residents managed to pull him out of the truck through the driver’s window.
Rescue Care said the pedestrians and driver were not seriously injured and were transported to hospital for treatment.
The truck had been carrying two tanks filled with apple cider vinegar.
Wine
Thinking it was wine, residents rushed to pour it from the truck in bucketfuls.
All this, while the was ongoing.
Unfazed by the precarious position of the truck, residents continued to pour the “wine” until the truck started moving.
Ward councillor Sharon Hoosen said she would salvage report the matter to the eThekwini Municipality’s disaster management team to see if they could provide assistance to the families whose homes were struck.
According to general practitioner Dr Bongisani Manukuza, while apple cider vinegar has health benefits, consuming too much can be harmful and even dangerous.
“Due to its acidity, it can erode tooth enamel and cause decay.
“It may cause nausea and symptoms of gastroparesis and make blood sugar control more difficult for those people with type 1 diabetes.
“There are reports of low potassium and osteoporosis probably caused by too much apple cider vinegar,” said Manukuza.