Vaalweekblad reports two Eskom third-party contractor employees sustained serious injuries after coming into contact with electricity  at a major residential construction site in the Kyalami area, north of Johannesburg whilst working on the electricity network. The two contractor employees who sustained injuries were subsequently air-lifted to the hospital where they are receiving medical treatment.

It is suspected that the two proceeded with work on the Eskom network during a loadshedding period. The incident seems to have occurred when the power was restored after the scheduled loadshedding. “According to Eskom’s safety standards, it is a serious violation for any electrical work to be done during this period. The contractors in question operated without Eskom’s permission and unfortunately this has resulted in injuries that could have been avoided”, said Motlhabane Ramashi, Senior Manager Maintenance and Operations.

The matter has been referred to the relevant authorities for further investigation and Eskom will cooperate fully in any investigation to ensure the matter is adequately dealt with.

Eskom would like to caution members of the public to treat all electrical equipment and the network as live at all times, including during loadshedding or any form of power supply interruption, for safety reasons.