Bethal — Two men were left injured this morning, one of them critically when a bakkie crashed into a truck on the R545, approximately 10km outside of Bethal.

ER24 paramedics, along with the Provincial Services, arrived on the scene at 21h00 to find a bakkie partially smashed beneath the truck trailer. A second bakkie was found to have rear-ended the first bakkie.

On closer inspection, medics found a man lying trapped in the bakkie in a critical condition. The driver of the second bakkie was seen walking around on the scene with minor injuries.

The Provincial Fire Services had to use specialised rescue tools to free the man from the vehicle, an operation lasting almost two hours.

Once freed, medics treated the two men and provided the critically injured man with advanced life support interventions before they were transported to Bethal Provincial Hospital for further care.

Local authorities were on the scene for further investigations.