Gunship
10th Jul 2005, 18:41
The N3 was closed to traffic in both directions on Sunday night when it instead became the landing strip for a flight for life plane on a mission of mercy, reported the SABC.
The crew of the fixed wing aircraft was sent to help a mechanic who was critically injured when a truck he was working on rolled over him.
The road was closed 15km south of Warden for the flight, and was later reopened.
The condition of the mechanic was not known.
4HolerPoler
11th Jul 2005, 05:57
Latest:
Man stable after mercy flight
A truck mechanic airlifted from the N3 near Warden by a fixed-wing plane on a mercy mission, was in a stable condition in Bethlehem's Mediclinic on Sunday night, an emergency worker told Sapa. About two kilometres of the N3 were closed to traffic in both directions shortly after 17:00 to enable the small plane to land and take-off, said Eastern Free State emergency medical services regional manager, Nicho Khoele. "Luckily there was not a lot of traffic at that time," he said. The truck - a long-distance pantechnicon - was travelling on the N3 when its brakes locked, said Khoele. The driver contacted a mechanic in Warden, which was about 10km away. However, while the mechanic was sorting out the problem, the vehicle rolled over him where he lay on the ground, causing lower abdominal and head injuries, he said.
A plane in Harrismith was sent the 60km to the scene and flew the mechanic to the closest hospital, the Mediclinic in Bethlehem.
He was admitted to the hospital in a very serious, but stable condition, said Koehle. The name and age of the mechanic are not known. It is understood the N3 was reopened a short while after the scene was cleared.
4HP
AC690
11th Jul 2005, 06:58
The plane was in fact ZS-MPH from FABM, picked him up and brought him back here.