South Africans have seen taxis do the most – from cruising seamlessly through untrodden paths to travelling at super speed to get commuters where they need to go. Needless to say, taxis and their passengers have been through a lot.
Adding to the list of taxi moments that have made locals do a double-take, is the recent instance of a Cape Town taxi that went for a swim in a massive sinkhole.
Social media users were quick to comment on the situation, with some pointing out that the body of water didn’t look like your average sinkhole, but more like another dimension.
Gary Collinette, Avid Security Managing Director, told Cape {town} Etc that one of the armed reaction officers was on-site and managed to photograph the incident.
Collinette added that a pipe burst underground resulted in the sinkhole.
The taxi soon found itself stuck in the thick of it. Luckily, no one was injured and the taxi has since been freed of the waterscape.
The City of Cape Town also released a statement regarding the burst pipe, which is located on the corner of Gie and Blaauwberg Roads in Table View.
It expressed that the roadway has been badly damaged and resulted in a road closure. The city’s Water and Sanitation team will start the repairs on the 300mm diameter water main ASAP, the statement added, and relevant teams have already been deployed to the site, as well as the police.
Meanwhile, taxi operators have reportedly decided to stop trips to Phillipi East after 4pm.
According to GroundUp, drivers are refusing to risk their lives to make the trips, due to instances of robberies at gunpoint, and fear-mongering techniques in the area.
“The drivers have had enough,” added Nkululeko Sityebi, CATA public relations officer.