The City of Tshwane’s Emergency Services Department is busy recovering the bodies of three males who lost their lives when a trench they were working in collapsed on them. The incident occurred in Myburgh Street, Capital Park at approximately 15:55 on 11 August 2023.
One contract worker was transported to a nearby hospital with moderate to severe injuries, while two escaped with no injuries from a trench estimated to be six (6) metres deep and four metres wide. The workers are employees of a contractor that is contracted to the City of Tshwane and were busy with repair work on a sewage line in Capital Park.
Rescue technicians are using two back-actor earth working machines to create a stable sloped access secured with shoring equipment to create safe access for technicians’ bodies. It is estimated that the recovery of the three males aged between 20 and 35 years may take more than twelve (12) hours because of unstable ground.
The names of the victims have not yet been released pending the notification of their families by the South African Police Services (SAPS) who are also on the scene. The scene will be handed over to the SAPS for further investigation once the bodies have been recovered.
