Four more trucks were burned this morning in Mpumalanga on the N2 between Piet Retief and Ermelo, bringing the total number of trucks torched in the country since Saturday to twenty.
Three trucks were seriously damaged whilst one only burned in the cabin. A female passenger sustained burned wounds on her feet as she was asleep in one of the trucks. She was taken for medical help by the EMS vehicle.
Mpumalanga police say it is alleged that people emerged from the grasses and approached the trucks with firearms and instructed the drivers to get out or otherwise they will burn them inside. The drivers then left and ran away.
Mpumalanga – N2 Route (Update): #TruckAttacks Trucks attacked and torched between Ermelo and Piet Retief – ROAD CLOSED pic.twitter.com/eeMnNspQrk
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) July 12, 2023
No one has been arrested so far and the motive for the attacks is unknown at the moment.
This brings the number of trucks set alight since Saturday to twenty. Five trucks were torched on the N4 highway near Machadodorp in Mpumalanga on Sunday night.
In Kwazulu-Natal police are investigating after two more trucks were set alight on the N2 at Empangeni on Monday night.
KZN – N2 Route: Truck Attacks at Empangeni – two trucks torched pic.twitter.com/4Sj7C3wmPE
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) July 11, 2023
This incident came after six trucks were torched on the Van Reenen’s Pass in KwaZulu-Natal, during the weekend, by a gang of armed men who forced the truck drivers to stop their trucks.
KZN / Free State – N3 Route (Latest): "Hit Squad" attack trucks on Van Reenens pass – 6 trucks burnt – one truck with numerous bullet holes in the cab – FULL ROAD CLOSURE #VanReenensPass https://t.co/wli6QrYIug pic.twitter.com/iunSiiVbL0
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) July 9, 2023
The Road Freight Association says this appears to be a coordinated attack on the road freight sector.
The Association says those who attack the road leg of logistics supply chains need to understand that the long-term effects will bring greater destruction to employment levels, and will result in further job losses, as businesses and supporting sectors shrink and trade moves away from South Africa.
RELATED: Attacks on trucks damaging economy
CEO Gavin Kelly says the cost to the South African economy, will run into Billions of Rand lost, as business confidence from foreign investors plummets, and those who use South Africa as a transit hub, turn away from the country and move to other countries that are safer and more efficient.
Police roadblocks have been set up along major transport routes countrywide, in a bid to stop the mayhem. The motive behind all the attacks is still unclear, and no arrests have been made.
