Scores injured and trapped in Middelburg factory blast
01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author
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The number of people who suffered serious burns in an explosion at a factory in Middelburg in the Eastern Cape has been put at 35.
Eastern Cape Health Department spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, says 18 seriously injured factory workers will be transferred in two helicopters to a Port Elizabeth hospital.
There are unconfirmed reports of two fatalities, while local are saying that hundreds of people have been streaming to the Wilhelm Stahl Hospital.
Police spokesperson, captain John Fobian, said that the fire is under control.
However, he says there are reports that several people remain trapped in the burning building.
"There are allegedly 20 people still missing or trapped inside the building. There will be a sweep now to determine by the fire department, ambulance and police and we have also send a search and rescue dog from Cradock to attend to the scene and if necessary we will dispatch more" he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labour says inspectors have already been sent to Middelburg to begin a preliminary investigation into the blast.
The chief director of provincial operations in the Eastern Cape, Bheki Gama.
"We are sending occupational health and safety inspectors t the scene so that they can do a prelimianry investigation. This investigation will tell the department which direction to take in terms to find whether the fault lies with the employer or if any responsibility can be laid on anyone" he said.
Algoa FM News also spoke to one local resident, Andrea Grobler, about Monday morning's events.
"We heard the big explosion and thought that something had fallen on the roof. We were not sure what happened. Locals told us Rolfe was on fire. They said people died and their skin was coming off. Some had lost their eye sight. It was a very heavy explosion" she said.
