UPDATE: Explosion at Wilmar – company comments
Wilmar SA comments on explosion in which a man was killed.
Wilmar South Africa in Robinson has commented on the explosion that left one man dead on Friday, 21 April.
Read initial article here: Explosion at cooking oil factory leaves one dead
Leon Niemand, General Manager of Wilmar SA, said, “We confirm that we had an explosion in one of our production facilities on Friday evening at about 6pm. One of our employees was fatally injured while five other employees were hospitalised for minor injuries.”
Niemand continued, saying that all injured persons were discharged from hospital during the weekend. Early indications are that this was a very unfortunate accident and the investigations are still ongoing to determine the exact cause of the explosion.
“Wilmar SA is fully co-operating with the investigative authorities and employees currently receive counselling.” he said.
Benny Mohlabeng, the Randfontein Fire Department chief confirmed on Saturday, 22 April, that they arrived on the scene and found that one of the plants had exploded. At this stage, they cannot conclude what exactly led the plant to explode as the incident is under investigation.
Mohlabeng confirmed that a young man passed away but said that three other victims were transported to hospital to be treated for their injuries.” He added that local police, Netcare 911 as well as the Fire Risk Department also were on scene.
Mohlabeng continued saying there was no fire, just an explosion and debris flying around. According to a reliable source, the deceased was an operator at the company.
Niemand said that Wilmar SA, out of respect for the family, is not willing to release the name of the deceased at this stage.
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