Africa-Press – South-Africa. At least six electricity pylons collapsed on the N4, leaving large parts of Pretoria East and Centurion without power, the City of Tshwane said on Monday.
The incident led to the closure of the N4 east, between the Solomon Mahlangu and Simon Vermooten off-ramps.
Motorists have been advised to avoid use alternative routes.
“The initial assessment by the energy and electricity team has found that at least six power line structures have collapsed and are badly damaged. The team has reconvened this morning on site to conduct further investigations,” the municipality said in a statement on Monday.
The following areas have been left without power:
The City was unable to say when power would be restored.
“The inclement weather is likely to delay the repair work. The estimated time for restoration is not available yet,” it said.
Eskom’s interim spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, told News24 the pylons belonged to the municipality.
Eskom isolated the affected lines to make sure teams could work safely.
“Eskom is engaging Tshwane to see how they can assist quicker as this can take days to restore,” Mokwena added.
Promed EMS said it responded to reports of a motor vehicle accident on the N4 on Sunday evening, following the collapse of the pylons.
“Upon arrival, paramedics found that multiple structures holding high-voltage cables running across the highway collapsed, causing these cables to hang extremely low over the highway, which in turn, caused multiple vehicles to collide,” it said in a statement.
It added:
“Two moderately injured patients were assessed and treated on the scene. They were transported to the hospital,” it added.
Meanwhile, in KwaZulu Natal, several areas have been left without power due to heavy rains and strong winds that swept through the province on Sunday night.
According to Eskom, areas that were affected the most were in the northern and southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal as well as the Midlands.
“Technicians have been deployed, but restoration may take longer than usual due to access problems. We urge affected customers to treat all electrical installations as live while plans to restore electricity supply are currently being implemented,” spokesperson Joyce Zingoni said in a statement.
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