Man injured in horror manhole fall
A 42-year-old Chintsa East man was injured and must walk on crutches after he fell into an open municipal manhole allegedly neglected by the Great Kei municipality.
Grant Engelbrecht, who lives in Merry Hill, is thanking his lucky stars after he survived the horror accident on Sunday night.
He told the Daily Dispatch on Wednesday that he was walking home from The C Club around 8.30pm when he accidentally walked into the big hole.
“It was very dark and there are no street lights here, so I walked right into the hole without seeing it. I got the shock of my life as I was confused as to what was happening,” Engelbrecht said.
When the Dispatch visited the area on Wednesday the hole was still open, with rusted reinforcement metal bars sticking out.
“I am in a lot of pain from my right arm, my neck and my badly injured right leg. There used to be a yellow barrier thing that covered the hole, and for the past two months it has not been covered,” said Engelbrecht, adding that he reported the problem to the municipality on Monday but nothing was done.
Chintsa East resident, Bronwen Makovini, said: “Many people have commented about the children and also that this was reported months back already.”
Great Kei municipal spokesperson, Akhona Shumane-Cakata said she was still waiting for a response from the relevant department. She did not know if the manhole was the responsibility of Great Kei or Amathole District Municipality (ADM), which she said was responsible for Great Kei’s “water and sanitation”.
I got the shock of my life as I was confused as to what was happening