Behind all scenes, there are always unsung heroes that do not get the recognition they deserve.
Amidst the chaos on Monday, May 4 after an ammonia solution spill, there were people who evacuated folks from their homes, directed traffic, ambulance services that set up temporary places for residents to get checked and three men who went back into the cloud of fumes to try and fix the leak.
An accident on the N12 involving three trucks and a car was the start of chaos in Tasbet 1, 3 and Uthingo Park.
One of the trucks carried the ammonia solution. After the collision, the ammonia solution started leaking on the road and some of it found its way into the drainage system which is connected to households. The smell that filled the air was so strong that residents in the three suburbs suffered burning eyes, throats, and had difficulty breathing.
Residents were evacuated and advised to go to parking areas at Reyno Ridge Shopping Centre, Pick n Pay in Watermeyer Street and some made their way to the Engen Garage parking area on the corner of OR Tambo Road and Louise Street.
At Reyno Ridge Shopping Centre ambulances set up and started screening people under the watchful eye of Gene Jacobs from Legacy Emergency Specialists who coordinated the process from there.
Paramedics from Langamed Ambulance service were dispatched to the scene of the accident and drove through the hot zone to get to the injured.
“At a stage, the paramedics felt the fumes overpowering them as well, but they pushed through to the scene,” said Mr Dino Padayachee from Langamed Ambulance Service.
The driver of the truck carrying energy drinks and the family from the car, overcome by the fumes, stood at the side of the road.
The paramedics loaded them and drove further along to a spot where the fumes were less.
There they stabilised the patients before transporting them to Emalahleni Private Hospital where they were treated for burning eyes, throats and vomiting.
Padayachee together with Messrs Charles Steyn and Johan de Jongh went back to the scene of the accident to determine the damage on the truck carrying the ammonia only to discover that the pipe was so severely ripped apart due to the accident that it was impossible to fix.
“We tried to isolate the leak, but it was impossible. Overpowered by the fumes we had to leave the scene,” Padayachee said.
MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, Mr Vusi Shongwe, is furious that the lives of residents were placed at risk after they were exposed to the highly toxic ammonia smell.
MEC Shongwe dispatched a team of officials to the scene to make sure that the company contains the spillage.
“We will wait for the company which owns the truck to formally report to the government within the prescribed time frame, with detailed information on the incident and litres of ammonia that has spilt.”
“We are particularly worried about the negative effects posed by ammonia to the environment and human beings,” said Shongwe.
“We understand that it was an accident but a meticulous investigation must still be conducted. We cannot gamble with human life especially as we are faced with Covid-19 and other health-threatening infections,” he said.
Without prejudging the outcome of the investigation, Shongwe warned that in an event, the truck company is found to have flouted regulations governing the movement of hazardous goods, and containment procedures the department would institute legal action in terms of the National Environmental Management Act.
Emalahleni Private Hospital had six admissions into casualty and two people were admitted to hospital.
“The two patients in the hospital are stable,” said Ms Valerie Shanahan from Emalahleni Private Hospital.
Thirty-two people were taken to Life Cosmos Hospital’s emergency unit and discharged in good health. Only one patient was admitted for a precautionary measure but also discharged.
There is no feedback from Witbank Hospital as to how many patients were seen at the provincial hospital.
Mr Moeti Mmusi from Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security said the preliminary investigation suggests that a side swipe crash occurred when one of the trucks attempted to overtake another truck. The third truck involved collided into one of the trucks and the car also smashed into one of the trucks.
Attempts to speak to the family of the car involved in the accident and the truck drivers were fruitless.
