Search is on for man missing inside 40km pipeline
An Umgeni Water employee fell down an open shaft late last night and has been missing inside a 40 kilometer pipeline that feeds water to Durban.
A 53-year-old Umgeni Water employee has been missing inside a 40 kilometer pipeline after falling down an open shaft in KwaNgcolosi, just past Inanda Dam.
SAPS Search and Rescue said the man and some colleagues were working on the pipeline last night (Tuesday, 28 October).
At about 8pm, they walked over an open area next to the pipe they were working on when he fell down an open shaft. It is believed the copper cover of the shaft was stolen. The unit also said there was no chance that he could have survived.
Search and Rescue inspected two areas along the massive pipeline, but by this morning had still not found his remains. The water that feeds the pipe from Nagel Dam was switched off at 4am this morning for about four hours in the hope that rescue services would recover his body.
It was switched on again at about 8am and rescue workers hope his remains will flush into the main grid, where it will be recovered before it goes into the treatment plant at Reservoir Hills.
SAPS, Search and Rescue and Netcare 911 are on scene. His family has been notified and are constantly being updated on the situation.
- More updates to follow.
