Motorists are urged to stay at home and avoid using the N3 from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng. relief and rescue operations are being distributed to those stuck in the snow in the Midlands.
Hundreds of commuters are stuck in their vehicles after heavy snow fell in areas around the Van Reenen Pass late last night.
According to the N3 Toll Concession, graders are busy removing the snow.
Spokesperson Thania Dhoogra says the N3 is still closed.
“It’s not just the N3 that’s been affected, the whole area and all the main roads around it are affected, leaving a lot of people stranded. It’s putting the emergency services under extreme stress and pressure right now, as they try to get to everyone and keep the road open. We’re trying to get mobility back as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we can’t control the weather. We’re in close contact with the weather services who are keeping us informed of what’s going on and our own people on the ground, but it’s a really difficult situation right now.”
Travelers seeking refuge
Dozens of motorists travelling on the N3 last night were forced to seek refuge at petrol stations in Harrismith due to the closure of the motorway.
Traveller Erica Pickston was travelling with her husband and three children from Johannesburg to the KwaZulu-Natal south coast yesterday afternoon when they had to cut their journey short due to bad weather.
“We left Joburg yesterday around 3:30 and heading towards Harrismith it started snowing so hard last night that you couldn’t even see the lines on the road and you put your high beams on and it just snowed back again. So we drove very slowly into Harrismith at the garage and we made a bed in the car. There’s five of us, three kids and two adults and we made our little nest and we tried to sleep through the night.”
KwaZulu-Natal residents warned of extreme weather conditions:
Snow in the Free State
The Thabo Mofutsanyana Municipality has warned road users and the community in the eastern Free State about snowfall in Qwaqwa, Harrismith and Kestell.
According to Sthembiso Mthombeni, disaster management coordinator, many main roads in the area are inaccessible and many people are stuck on those roads.
The roads affected are: N3, Van Reenen’s Pass to Harrismith, R57 from Qwaqwa to Kestell and R712 from Bethlehem to Harrismith via Qwaqwa.
Mthombeni has asked motorists wishing to use the roads in the area to postpone their journey until the roads are cleared.
“At the moment there are many cars stuck here on these roads and we are doing our utmost to rescue all these affected people. At the moment in Qwaqwa there are tourists who were going to Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge, they are also stuck. We humbly request everyone to remain calm and stay inside their homes. If anything happens, do not hesitate to call the police – they communicate with our disaster management (and) we can see what we need to do.”
Three entrance gates closed due to heavy snowfall:
-Additional reporting by Salma Patel
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