Pretoria - SAPS in Tshwane district has opened an inquest docket into the circumstances of the deaths of three men who were trapped inside a trench that collapsed in Capital Park.
They worked for a contractor hired by the City of Tshwane, District police spokesperson Johan Van Dyk told the Pretoria News an investigation was under way after the scene was handed over to the police on Saturday morning.
The deceased, aged between 20 and 35, were repairing a sewage line on Myburgh Street on Friday, when the incident occurred.
Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Charles Mabaso said one contract worker was ferried to a hospital after sustaining moderate to serious injuries.
Two workers escaped with no injuries from the trench, estimated to be six metres deep and four metres wide.
“The workers are employees of a contractor contracted to the City of Tshwane.
“They were busy with repair work of a sewage line in Capital Park,” Mabaso said.
During the rescue, which lasted more than 12 hours, technicians used “two back actor earth working machines to create a stable sloped access” to create a safe access for rescuers.
Mabaso said: “Emergency services fire and rescue technicians from the City of Tshwane’s emergency services and the Gauteng emergency medical services, as well as some contractors who were operating earth-working machines, worked throughout the night to recover the bodies of three contract workers trapped in a collapsed trench from the afternoon of Friday.
“The bodies were recovered just after 6am on Saturday.”
He said the scene was handed over to the SAPS for further investigations.
“We would like to call upon contractors and contract workers to observe safe trench working practices when working in trenches, irrespective of the depth and the size of the trenches.
“Proper evaluation of the stability of the ground should be conducted prior to work being carried out in trenches.
“An observation of the ground should always be carried out so workers and everybody working in trenches remain safe during operations,” Mabaso said.
Pretoria News