A man is fighting for his life at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital after being exposed to organophosphate along Mnandi Street near Diepsloot.
The unidentified 27-year-old man was picked up, unconscious, by Netcare911 officials who then airlifted him to hospital.
Media liaison officer for the rescue service, Athlenda Mathe said the source of the toxin could not be established. “We are not sure about how he got exposed to this poisonous pesticide. He might have drunk or inhaled it,” she said. Mathe also added that the pesticide was normally used on farms to keep pests at bay.
She, however, said the area which the victim was picked up from was not a farm area but an industrial spot. “He was found near warehouses and, more probably, the pesticide might have been spread around those warehouses,” said Mathe.
She has asked the public to temporarily keep away from Mnandi Street while authorities battle to establish the source of the toxin.
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