A routine drive through Michell’s Pass turned into a nightmare on 12 May 2026 when a sudden mudslide tore down the mountainside and engulfed a section of the R46, trapping and pushing heavy vehicles with brutal force in seconds.
Dashcam footage from a truck travelling directly behind the incident captures the exact moment everything went wrong.
Without warning, a wall of muddy water and debris comes crashing down the slope. The leading truck is caught mid-road, suddenly forced sideways as the flow hits it with full force. There is no time to react, no space to escape.
Within seconds, the truck is dragged across the road and slammed into the vehicle behind it. The impact pushes the second truck backwards for several metres as both drivers struggle against the overwhelming force of the floodwater.
What starts as a moving convoy quickly turns into a scene of chaos.
Trapped in Mud, Cut Off in Minutes
Images from the scene later show a devastating aftermath. Multiple heavy vehicles, including trucks and a bus, are left stranded and half-buried in thick mud as floodwater continues to move across the pass.
The road disappears under debris. Wheels sink deep. Movement becomes impossible.
For days, the vehicles remained stuck while emergency teams and road crews battled difficult conditions to clear access to the mountain pass. Heavy machinery was eventually brought in to reopen the route and recover stranded vehicles.
According to the Witzenberg Municipality the road was reopened on the 16th of May.
A Mountain Pass Turned Danger Zone
Michell’s Pass is known for its steep gradients and sharp bends, but this incident has highlighted a different threat entirely, sudden slope failures triggered by extreme rainfall.
Drivers who have seen the footage say the most chilling part is how little time there was to respond. One moment, the road is clear, the next it is gone.
The pass has since been reopened after extensive cleanup operations and safety checks.
Truckers Left With a Stark Reminder
The dashcam video has spread widely across social media, with many in the trucking community calling it one of the most intense weather-related incidents captured on camera in recent memory.
It has also reignited concern around driving mountain routes during severe weather, where visibility can be clear one second and deadly the next.
In a separate development during the same weather system, the trucking community in KwaZulu-Natal is still dealing with the emotional strain of a missing driver swept away in floodwaters, adding to an already difficult period for road transport operators across the country.
For many drivers watching the footage, the message is simple: in extreme weather, the road can change faster than any truck can react.
Waatch the video below:
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