South Africa: Heavy snowfall forces road closures

Heavy snowfall caused major disruptions in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province on Saturday.

Motorists were forced to spend the night in their vehicles as one of the country's main highways, the N3, was blanketed with unusually thick snow.

Roads in the area have been closed, and traffic authorities have warned motorists to delay journeys and keep clear of the area.

Portion of N3 highway closed

"Heavy snowfall continues to blanket the N3 highway, particularly between Warden and Tugela Plaza in KwaZulu-Natal, making travel extremely dangerous," South Africa's Department of Transport said in a statement.

"The ministry is deeply concerned about the situation, especially as many travelers spent the night stranded at filling stations and along the N3, unable to move due to the road closures," the department said, adding that various emergency services were being deployed to the area.

Authorities said that no deaths or injuries had been reported thus far.

Road safety organization Arrive Alive warned that visibility along the N3 was poor and that the cold and wet conditions were set to continue.

"The risk remains high for more snowfalls and the formation of black ice as temperatures drop into the night," the group warned and made a series of posts on X, showing the extent of the snowfall.

South Africa's Border Management Authority said three border posts with the kingdom of Lesotho had been closed as "the current conditions pose a significant danger."

Many road users posted videos on social media showing cars, trucks and minibusses stuck in deep snow.

Motorist Muhammad Goolam told the Newzroom Afrika channel that he and his children had spent the night in his car outside the town of Harrismith, situated 270 kilometers (170 miles) southeast of Johannesburg.

"Over 13 hours, food supplies out, I don't see us managing to drive out of here without any assistant from emergency personnel," he said.

N3 route, one of South Africa's busiest

The N3 route is one of South Africa's main highways with goods being transported to and from the port city of Durban.

The route is one of the busiest road freight corridors in the country on which millions of tons of cargo are transported.

The South African Weather Service issued weather alerts in the region, warning that disruptive snow was causing life-threatening conditions with the potential for loss of livestock and crops.

The weather service warned that mountain passes in a number of areas were closed and that some communities were temporarily inaccessible.

Material from AFP was used in this article.