27 Dec 2016

Just when residents of Moshupa were dwelling into the joy, fun and excitement of Christmas night, a catastrophe unfolded when Hatsalatladi River Bridge collapsed, resulting in two vehicles falling into the river.

According to Moshupa police station commander, Superintendent Oteng Ngada, the tragedy happened on the night of December 25.

“Hatsalatladi Bridge, which is along the A10 road that connects Thamaga, Moshupa and Kanye collapsed and two cars, a black golf 5 and a gold Runx shockingly fell into the collapsing  bridge,“ he said.

He said there were two people in each car. They all had minor injuries, therefore they were treated and released the same night at Mmaseetsele Clinic in Moshupa.

He said investigations pertaining to the cause of the incident were still on going and he advised road users to use alternative routes.

For her part, roads department communications manager, Ms Doreen Moapare said they were dealing with the crisis.

“We have heavily barricaded the road for the safety of the motorists and pedestrians. People are still in shock. We are expecting the whole reconstruction of the bridge to finish in a bit of time,“ she said.

Ms Moapare advised the public to use either Mogobane/Ranaka road or pass within Moshupa  when heading to or from Kanye.

“We currently do not have any casualties and considering this, we will be looking into attending to the personal shock of the injured people and ensure that their general welfare is well taken care of.”

Ms Moapare added that, "our roads are safe, it is just a calamity that happened and it is the first of its kind in the country".

The management of Elsamex Construction, the company handling the road expansion project that included the bridge, was not available for comment.  ends