Four other trucks were set on fire in Mpumalanga early Wednesday morning.
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- Four trucks were burned in Mpumalanga on Wednesday morning.
- Another truck caught fire after it overturned on the N1 in Bloemfontein.
- A second truck trailer caught fire when a tire blew on the R59 in Gauteng.
Four trucks were burned in Mpumalanga on Wednesday morning while two others caught fire in separate incidents in the Free State and Gauteng.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Brigadier Sylvie Mohlala said the four trucks were burnt on Wednesday morning at around 05:30 on the N2 highway between Beit Retief and Ermelo.
Mohlala said the drivers were reportedly ordered, at gunpoint, out of the trucks before they were set on fire.
People allegedly emerged from the weeds and approached the trucks with firearms and ordered the drivers to get off or they would be burned inside. [drivers] Then he left and ran away.”
One female passenger suffered burns to her face and feet. It is understood that she was sleeping inside one of the trucks when it was set on fire. Since then, she has been hospitalized for treatment.
No arrests have been made so far and the motive behind the attack remains unclear.
The number of trucks destroyed in the past few days in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga has risen to 20.
In a separate incident on Tuesday night, a tanker carrying paraffin overturned on the N1 motorway in Bloemfontein after the driver lost control of the vehicle while rounding a bend, said Simon Zwaan, spokesman for the Road Traffic Management Company.
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The driver and passenger escaped with minor injuries.
In a second incident, in Gauteng, a lorry caught fire after a tire blew while traveling on the R59 at Merton.
A spokesman for the Ekorholeni Municipal Police Department, Kelebugil Thiba, said the truck was towing two trailers when the tire of one of the trailers burst and caused the trailer to catch fire.
Six trucks were set on fire in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.
Thiba said the quick-thinking driver loosened the trailers to prevent the truck from collapsing.
No one was injured in the accident.
Thiba said the accident was not related to the chain of truck ignitions across the country.
News 24 reported earlier that the number of trucks destroyed in Arson attacks Over the three days to Monday, the 16-year-old was found dead after five trucks were set on fire in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.
Eleven were burned over the weekend – six in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday and five in Mpumalanga on Sunday night.