One dies, two injured as crane collapses at Kusile

Eskom Kusile Power Station, which is currently under construction, has had another set back as a fatality occurred early this week and two other people were injured.

The incident occurred on Monday, September 14 in the afternoon on the site.
Construction work has temporarily been halted pending on the outcome of Eskom’s investigation into the cause of the incident.

Kusile is already far behind schedule and it is now estimated that it should be completed by 2021.
Three employees were working on a scaffold when a mobile crane, busy pouring concrete tipped and fell on top of them.

The crane radius was extended and that caused the crane to fall over with the bucket of concrete.

Emergency services attended the scene and the three injured were rushed to a local hospital in eMalahleni for further treatment. One employee died on his way to hospital and the other two sustained injuries. They are currently in a stable condition in hospital.

Eskom’s spokesperson Mr Khulu Phasiwe could confirm that an investigation into how the crane collapsed is underway.

“Investigations are ongoing and will determine what the cause of this accident is. On Tuesday we’ll have the Public Enterprise and Energy Portfolio Committees on site and I’m sure they’ll be briefed about what happened,” said Phasiwe.

It is still unclear when work would resume at the affected area on the construction site.

“We can confirm that a contractor employee lost his life yesterday when a crane tipped and fell on a scaffolding platform,” said Mr Vusi Silawu, spokesperson for Kusile Power Station.

“Two other employees were injured and are currently in hospital receiving treatment, they are in a stable condition. This incident is currently under investigation,” continued Silawu.

Police have opened an inquest docket and they will also conduct their own investigation.
The crane company was contacted numerous times for comment about the incident at Kusile, they could not be reached.
The deceased is a South African National and has not been formally identified.