Two contract workers sadly passed away after being trapped in a manhole in the inner city of Joburg, while three other workers were rushed to the hospital.
Joburg Emergency Medical Service (EMS) spokeswoman Nana Radebe confirmed the incident, which happened on Saturday, 19 October.
According to Radebe, it’s still unclear what the workers were doing, but she said they’re contractors from City Power.
“The City of Joburg Emergency Services responded to an incident on the corner of Commissioner and Von Brandis streets in town where five contractor workers were stuck in a manhole while working. Three of them have been taken to a nearby medical facility, while two died from fumes from the generator,” Radebe said.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Radebe said they received the call early Saturday morning and have been on the scene trying to rescue the workers.
“EMS received a call at 11.30am. Three of the people were found near the exit of the manhole, and the other two were found further down the tunnel. The last person was extricated at 2.15pm,” she said.
City Power spokesman Isaac confirmed that the workers are contractors from City Power and had been attending to a cable theft matter.
“The five contracted technicians were responding to a case of cable theft that happened recently. They started with the work of replacing and repairing the cable that was cut and stolen. Today was their second day on site,” he said.
According to Mangena, it’s unclear what the cause of the incident was however investigations are underway.
“City Power, along with all relevant authorities, are on site conducting investigations into the circumstances that led to this fatal incident. As soon further details become available, we will inform the public,” he said.
Mangena said they were devastated by the incident which resulted in the death of two workers and injury of three more.
“We would like to send our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. We also wish a speedy recovery to those contractors who were rescued and rushed to hospital,” hesaid.
