Man rescued from storm drain after assault

MBOMBELA – A man had to be rescued from a storm-water drain after he was assaulted in Bester Street over the weekend.

The incident occurred on Saturday night when Mr Herman Raath (28) who works in Mozambique, was staying at the New Frontier Backpackers Lodge.

Read more here: Lowveld woman (21) tells of road rage incident

“I walked to the Total Garage. After I had an argument with a friend, I decided to walk back to the lodge. Along the way, near Absa Square, I noticed two men following me,” Raath told Lowvelder from his bed in Rob Ferreira Hospital on Wednesday.

He said they kept behind him until he reached Bester Street, where they caught him off-guard and shoved him from behind.

Read more here : No arrest after Lowveld advocate Nico du Plessis’ assault

“I fell onto the edge of the drain. I grabbed a brick or a rock and hit one of them, but by then they had me pinned to the ground,” he said. He then fell into the drain after which the force of the water dragged him into the pipe.

The attackers took his phone, wallet and car keys. “Luckily they did not find my car,” Raath said. “I lay there calling for help for a long time. Eventually someone heard me.”

He sustained injuries to the head, back, neck and shoulder and broke his hip.

A fireman at the scene said a security officer had heard Raath’s cries for help and contacted the control room. “We went down into the drain to stabilise him. We didn’t know how long he had been in the water,” he said.

Read more here :  Nightmares for young man after assault

ER24 medical services branch manager Mr Greg Wilcox said they had received the call-out at around 02:00. There were police, the fire department and various security guards at the scene when he and his team arrived.

“I could see he had sustained injuries to his head and had suffered a possible hip fracture,” he said.

Police spokesman Capt Dawie Pretorius confirmed that the SAPS were investigating the case.