Four die after inhaling gas fumes while fixing municipal sewer pipe

Four men died after they were overcome by gas fumes while trying to unblock a municipal sewer pipe in Koster, North West.

The four men, Connie Cloete, Lennox Thubeni, Chris Pretorius and Mpho Melato were repairing the sewer pipe when the gas fumes emerged which allegedly led to their deaths according to the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Kgetlengrivier.

The DA said Cloete and Thubeni were declared dead at the scene while Pretorius and Melato died later in hospital.

The party said it was is saddened by the passing of four men and expressed its condolences.

DA constituency head at the Rustenburg Local Municipality Cheryl Phillips said: “We extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and friends and wish them strength during this difficult time.

“They lived and died to serve their community and are local heroes we will celebrate. The sewer blockage left an unbearable stench which led to the four men’s desperate attempts to fix it.”

Philips claimed that the deaths of the four were a direct result of the municipality’s failure to bring service delivery to the people of Kgetlengrivier.

“Service delivery is non-existent, residents are constantly without water supply, refuse collection is erratic and infrastructure maintenance are almost non-existent.

“These deaths come just as Koster was coming to grips with the death of Johan Rossouw, who died after being hit by a vehicle while crossing Rissik Street in the area. For years, residents have been calling for a four-way stop or speed humps to be installed at this intersection,” she said.

The MP said the DA would write to MEC for cooperative governance Gordon Kegakilwe, “requesting him to immediately intervene by establishing and implementing a turnaround strategy that will restore service delivery and good governance in the municipality”.

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