A desperate multi-agency search is underway in Mpumalanga after a vehicle plunged into the Crocodile River in the early hours of Sunday morning, raising severe concerns for the occupants due to the waterway’s dangerous wildlife.
The incident occurred shortly after 4:00 a.m. near the University of Mpumalanga. According to local residents, the driver of a white vehicle allegedly failed to stop at an intersection—where the road splits toward Mbombela and Kanyamazane—crashed through a steel fence, and ended up in the river nearly 500 meters away. Remnants of the vehicle, including the bumper, were left scattered at the broken gate.
Because the river is notoriously infested with crocodiles and hippos, emergency services were forced to wait for daylight to commence operations safely. Police divers, paramedics, and law enforcement officers arrived on the scene and entered the freezing water just after 9:00 a.m.
The head of the local police diving unit is leading the operation in the water alongside two junior divers—one male and one female. Due to the extreme danger posed by the wildlife and the steep, slippery riverbanks, the dive team is moving together in a group while deploying a steel wire. A heavy tow truck is also on standby on the hill, ready to use the wire to pull the vehicle out once it is located.
It remains unclear how many people were inside the vehicle at the time of the crash, or if the driver was alone.
Authorities have cordoned off the area and issued strict warnings to the public and nearby residents to stay away from the riverbanks and the surrounding yard due to the high risk of crocodile encounters. While drones have been utilized in similar past incidents in the province to mitigate risks to human divers, no drone equipment has been deployed at this scene thus far. The physical search currently relies entirely on the dive team battling the cold and hazardous conditions as they look for the submerged vehicle and any potential occupants.
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