Factory staff sent home after tank deaths

ATLANTIC Plastic Recycling company in Parow sent its workers home yesterday after four workers were killed and two others hospitalised on Tuesday, when they were overcome by fumes inside an underground tank.

One of the factory managers, Fred Cheetham, said he could not believe what had happened.

“I am very saddened,” he said. Cheetham said they had informed the families of the victims.

He said the company started 30 years ago and had never had an incident resulting in the deaths of staff.

Department of Labour spokesperson Candice van Reenen said emergency services were called to the company’s premises after four workers were killed while busy with their operations.

“The department will assess whether occupational health and safety standards and practices were in place,” she said.

“A prohibition notice has since been served on the employer to suspend all activities at the affected site within the plant.

“The prohibition notice also prohibits the access of any unauthorised persons to the affected site.”

Van Reenen said the department wanted to emphasise that the investigation and its findings remained a key priority, although the time-frame for the release of the findings could not yet be determined.

“The loss of lives is regrettable, and it is the department’s endeavour that every effort within the scope of its jurisdiction is made to secure closure for the families of those involved,” she said.

The department expressed its heartfelt condolences to the families and colleagues of the employees who lost their lives.

On Tuesday, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said the officers discovered the bodies of four males submerged in recycled water inside the factory.

“A further three males were treated at the scene, and two were taken to hospital,” Carelse said.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said in a preliminary report: “Crime scene experts and members of the Provincial Disaster Management were on a scene where four people died.”

He said four of the men aged 22, 35, 41 and 51, died inside the tank and the fifth man was rescued by fellow employees.

“He was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. An inquest case was registered for investigation,” Van Wyk said.