An employee working for a company contracted by Siza Water to repair water pipes on the corner of Osborne Drive and Hulett Road in Salt Rock, KZN, died tragically late yesterday afternoon when a water pipe suddenly burst, causing the trench he was working in to collapse.

According to IPSS Medical Rescue’s Samantha Meyrick, the man was initially trapped in waist-deep sand. Colleagues worked frantically to try and dig him out as the trench rapidly filled with water, but were unable to pull him out.

Emergency teams and KwaDukuza fire department personnel worked for over an hour to recover the body from the sludge.

What caused the pipe to burst is currently unknown, and the man’s identity cannot be revealed until his family has been informed.

No further information was available at the time of publishing.