A 32-year-old worker who was injured when a sand bank collapsed onto him and his co-workers at a construction site in Ballito, north of Durban, is still recovering in hospital.
The man was the only person to survive the horrific incident that claimed the lives of four workers. The sand bank collapsed at a site in Zen Drive in Ballito, entrapping five workers.
According to a source, the injured East London resident remains at a Durban hospital.
“On the day, doctors were despatched to the scene and were preparing for an amputation at the scene. It was not necessary and his legs remain intact. He did undergo surgery, that went on for hours,” the source revealed.
The source added that the man said he was aware that his colleagues had died.
IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson, Samantha Meyrick, said the patient suffered renal impairment due to crush injuries sustained in the collapse. He also had severe dehydration at the scene.
Meanwhile, police have confirmed that an inquest docket was opened for further investigation. i
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said 14 construction workers were at the bottom of the escarpment, building a gabion retaining wall when the wall collapsed and buried five workers underneath.
Netshiunda said inquest dockets have been opened for investigation, and the circumstances that led to the collapse of the wall will also form part of police investigations.
IOL News