Mountview, KZN – A routine roadside stop took an unfortunate turn on Jabu Ngcobo Drive when a man who allegedly paused to urinate ended up needing a full-scale rescue after falling into a ditch.
The incident unfolded on Friday afternoon when members of Reaction Unit South Africa spotted SAPS officers searching nearby bushes and moved in to assist.
While scanning the area, rescuers heard faint cries for help coming from below the roadside embankment.
“Calls for help were heard from a ditch some distance off the roadway,” responders said.
On closer inspection, they discovered an adult male trapped at the bottom of a steep ditch after apparently slipping while offloading from his roadside stop.
A man who had stopped to urinate was rescued after he fell into a ditch on Jabu Ngcobo Drive near Mountviewhttps://t.co/1o1lzC0kM2#ArriveAlive #Rescue pic.twitter.com/Ski1YeYg8b
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) April 5, 2026
An initial rescue attempt using a rope proved unsuccessful, prompting a call for backup from the eThekwini Fire Department.
“Firefighters arrived with rescue equipment and conducted multiple attempts to retrieve the individual,” the report noted.
Eventually, the man was safely extracted.
“The male was eventually successfully extracted from the ditch,” rescuers confirmed.
He is believed to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time, and his brief stop reportedly went from convenience to calamity.
“It is believed that he had stopped to urinate before slipping down the steep embankment and was unable to return to his silver Ford Fiesta,” officials said.
Fortunately, the man escaped with only minor bruising — and likely a very memorable lesson about roadside decisions.
