Hippo dies after hitting ambulance while crossing road, leaving driver and two passengers with serious injuries
GRAPHIC WARNING The accident also left two others injured
AN AMBULANCE driver was left in a critical condition after his vehicle smashed into and killed a hippo that was in the middle of the road.
The driver was rushed to the hospital following the crash with the wild animal in the capital city of Pretoria in Gauteng Province, South Africa.
The accident also left two others injured.
Paramedic spokesperson Elsabe Van Niekerk said the driver and two others aboard the ambulance, believed to be crew members, were seriously injured.
Emergency services raced to the scene and the three were stabilised before being taken to hospital where they are not believed to be in a life threatening condition.
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Henke Marais, of the nearby Tshwane nature conservation, said: "Hippos have been spotted around Roodeplaat dam a few times, but you don’t see them often.
"We can only urge people to be vigilant."
He added that wild animals tend to follow where food and water can be found but they sometimes end up lost in more populated areas.
"Large animals follow the river streams, and sometimes they end up at the Roodeplaat dam," he added.
The victims' names were not mentioned in media reports.
The terrifying power of hippos was laid bare when an angry hippo smashed into the bonnet of a truck leaving the terrified driver fearing for his life.
Filmed in Kruger National Park in South Africa by Wikus Ceronie, 26, the incredible attack went viral.