Five brand-new luxury vehicles were desgtroyed when a car carrier truck caught fire on the N1 just after Musina, heading towards the Beitbridge border.
The incident, which occurred this Friday morning, left motorists and witnesses stunned as flames engulfed the trailer, destroying its precious cargo.
Among the vehicles lost in the blaze were two brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 2025 models, two Toyota Fortuners, and a Toyota Corolla Cross 2025.
The financial loss is expected to run into millions.
According to witnesses at the scene, the truck driver managed to detach the horse before the fire could spread, preventing a total loss.
“The fire started on the trailer, so the horse was not affected,” said one eyewitness.
Read | Car carrier truck overturns on N3
What makes this incident unusual is that the trailer’s wheels only caught fire after the front section of the trailer was already burning.
Typically, in such cases, overheating brakes or a tyre burst are the main culprits. However, this time, the flames did not originate from the wheels, raising questions about the actual cause of the fire.
Firefighters eventually managed to extinguish the blaze, but by then, all five vehicles had already been either completely destroyed or severely damaged.
Authorities have not yet determined what sparked the fire, and an investigation is expected to follow. Meanwhile, the charred remains of what were once high-end vehicles serve as a painful reminder of how quickly disaster can strike on the road.
Traffic had to be rerouted through the bush to pass the scene.
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