Employee succumbs to toxic fumes
Pregnant woman takes last breath in store toilet as generator starts
A pregnant woman died in a shoe store after allegedly inhaling toxic fumes from a generator.
Her family is still recovering from the shock of the incident that happened on Tuesday.
Ivy Makoma Shohledi, 30, of Tembisa, died in a Studio 88 toilet at Tembisa Plaza in Ekurhuleni.
She had been in the toilet when her colleagues started a generator in the store room next to the toilet after a power failure in the area.
Other staff members also inhaled the fumes, but were not as seriously affected.
Police spokeswoman Captain Nelda Hlase said Shohledi died on the scene.
Her devastated father said: “I received a call from a relative who was at the scene. I walked into the store room and found a generator on the floor. She was also lying on the floor.
“They said she was in the toilet and she could not come out.
“There are nine of us in the house. I was retrenched and my wife works odd jobs as a domestic worker.
“She was the only one with a stable job, and was a breadwinner. She paid for her younger sister’s college fees, and was of great help to the entire family. I just want them [Studio 88] to bury her in a dignified manner.”
Her boyfriend Nicholas Tabane wept as he spoke of their plans to get married.
“I love her. We had already made plans to pay lobola in September. I wanted to marry her. I lost two people at once. We were looking forward to having a baby. This was my first child. Life will never be the same without her,” he said.
Shohledi’s sister Melidah Malatja said her sister was about four months pregnant.
When Sowetan visited Studio 88 yesterday the generator was still in the store room next to the toilet. Studio 88 store manager Lucky Baloyi said the traumatised staff were given a day off. “We only came in today [staff were brought in from another branch] after what had happened,” said Baloyi.
A security officer at the shopping complex said all stores operated generators outside of the premises. “Generators are not allowed to operate inside a store.”