WATCH | Dust flies, soldiers scatter as tank crashes during army manoeuvres

The driver of an army  tank narrowly avoided what could have been a disaster when he crashed into a barrier fence during a demonstration on Monday. 

In a viral clip, members of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) can be seen scattering for cover as the driver of the tank descends from a sand hill, takes a corner too wide and crashes into a fence near which members had been observing the exercise. 

In a statement on Tuesday, the SANDF confirmed the incident. 

"The SANDF can confirm the incident happened during a practice run for the Armed Forces Day 2020 Capability Demonstration at the Roodewal bombing range. The range is a controlled area that is utilised by SANDF personnel and equipment. There were neither injuries suffered nor damage reported."

The force "noted with concern the video clip which had been circulating on social media platforms".  

"It is regrettable that there are individuals who hide behind pseudonyms while intentionally portraying the SANDF negatively by posting and or commenting adversely against it, with ill intentions of casting doubts about its personnel and equipment to the unsuspecting public," the statement read. 

SANDF head of communications Siphiwe Dlamini earlier told TimesLIVE that a number of military events were taking place in the Limpopo capital in preparation for Armed Forces' Day celebrations on Wednesday. 

The clip received mixed reactions, but most South Africans defended the defence force, saying such incidents do occur in training exercises and should not be made public.