‘Cable thief’ burnt in explosion

A MAN who allegedly tried to steal electrical cables at the M&S substation at the Murray and Roberts Building yesterday morning was hospitalised after sustaining second-degree burns when the substation exploded.

The building in Govan Mbeki Avenue, North End, is mostly used by Nelson Mandela Bay municipal workers from the budget and treasury departments.

The substation blew up at about 10am, causing a power outage in the Central area.

Workers were evacuated from the building as dark smoke clouded the sky. Firefighters worked tirelessly to extinguish the fire using foam.

A municipal worker who wished to remain anonymous said he was on the phone when he heard a loud bang.

“Immediately the electricity went off. At first I thought it was load-shedding but when I looked through my office window, I was shocked to see a man running down the stairs in flames. We were then told to leave the building as it was on fire. It was very scary as we thought the whole building would explode,” he said.

Another worker said she panicked when she heard the building was on fire because her son had just called her saying he was in the lift coming up to her office.

“Like everyone else, I thought it was load-shedding but when people started screaming that there was fire I started panicking because my son was in the elevator. It was only after I saw him that I managed to join the others outside. We recognised the guy who was burnt as someone who usually sells cigarettes and sweets,” she said.

Nwosu Love, 30, who owns a salon in the area, said: “I was busy with a client when I heard the explosion and the electricity went off. One of my colleagues shouted that the building was on fire and we all ran out. I hope power will be restored soon, I cannot afford to lose customers.”

Municipal spokesman Roland Williams said technicians attended to the problem by isolating the substation and rerouting supply to the area from other substations.

“The municipality is investigating attempted cable theft which may have caused the electrical outage. However by 11.30am power was restored.”