Man dies in Eskom accident

CONSTRUCTION was expected to resume at the Kusile power station today, after a fatal accident on Monday.

A man died and two were admitted to hospital after the accident. The man was the fourth person to die on the site since construction started.

Eskom said the injured men were in a stable condition and that one of them had been moved from the intensive care unit to a general ward.

“We expect one of them to be released from hospital in a day or so,” the power utility said.

The three are employed by Eskom’s principal construction contractor, Stefanutti Stocks Basil Read Joint Venture.

Stefanutti Stocks, the lead company in the joint venture, referred all comment to Eskom. The names of the victims were not released.

“To date, this is the fourth fatality since the beginning of the project in 2007. Kusile power station has one of the lowest injury rates for a project of this magnitude. The current injury rate is 0.09%,” said the power utility.

Eskom’s annual report notes that 223 employees and contractors have died in workrelated accidents across the company in the 10 years to March this year.

Monday’s accident happened when a crane tipped over and fell on to a scaffolding platform.

“They were on the scaffolding,” said Eskom’s spokesman Khulu Phasiwe, who visited the site yesterday.

He said the first three units at the power station were in various stages of completion, so the accident was at a height equivalent to that of three or four storeys of a building.

“After the incident, the Department of Labour was notified. It immediately dispatched an inspector to the scene.

“The inspector issued a restriction notice only on the area where the incident took place,” Eskom said, adding normal operations were due to resume today.

A parliamentary delegation visited Kusile yesterday, and was briefed on the accident. It included MPs from the portfolio committee on economic development and members of the National Council of Provinces from Mpumalanga.