70 farmworkers injured after truck overturns near Stellenbosch

Picture: Twitter / @BOSBEER2006

Picture: Twitter / @BOSBEER2006

Published Jan 27, 2021

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Cape Town – At least 70 farmworkers were injured this morning when their truck overturned on the R44 near Klapmuts, 17km from Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape.

Fortunately, the workers sustained no serious injuries or fatalities.

ER24 communications officer Russel Meiring said in a statement that ER24 paramedics and the Metro Services arrived on the scene at 7.20am to find the truck on the side of the road.

’’Workers that had been on the back of the truck were now scattered around the scene.

’’Medics assessed the patients and found that approximately 70 people had sustained minor to moderate injuries. Fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalities were found.

’’The patients were treated for their injuries and were thereafter transported to nearby hospitals for further care.

’’The details surrounding this incident are unknown, but local authorities were on the scene for further investigations.’’

At the beginning of the month, Cosatu in the Western Cape called on Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi to ban the transportation of farmworkers on trucks.

Three farmworkers died and more than 20 people were injured in an accident near Worcester in the Western Cape.

The four-ton truck was carrying 37 farmworkers when the driver lost control of the vehicle.

“We raised the question of farmers using trucks to transport workers, for us that is a violation of those workers’ rights,” Cosatu's Malvern de Bruyn told EWN at the time of the incident.

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Minister Thoko Didiza also called on stakeholders in the sector to look at the issue of transportation of farmworkers in the country.

IOL

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