This comes after a blast at a Pinetown factory on Tuesday and an explosion at the Engen Refinery in Wentworth in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
ONE PERSON was killed and three others were injured following an explosion at a factory in Germiston, Gauteng, on Wednesday afternoon.
This after a blast at a Pinetown factory in KwaZulu-Natal, Zeta Cosmetic, on Tuesday in which 12 people were injured.
On Friday, seven people were injured in an explosion at the Engen Refinery in Wentworth, Durban.
When paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after 3pm in Germiston, ER24 said, a triage area had been set up outside the building.
“Upon further assessment, paramedics found a patient that had sustained fatal injuries. The patient was declared dead at the scene.
“Three others had sustained critical injuries. Two were airlifted by medical helicopter to hospital for further medical care, while the other was transported by road to hospital.
“The exact circumstances surrounding the incident were not known to our paramedics, but local authorities were on scene for further investigations,’’ ER24 said.
As hundreds of people gathered outside the Engen refinery main gate in Tara Road on Wednesday morning, demanding that the plant be shut down, the KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ravi Pillay, has given management at the Pinetown factory 14 days to compile a report detailing the cause of a blaze at its plant.
He asked that the report explains how Zeta Cosmetic factory management plans to clean up the area and outlines measures it will take to contain pollution of the environment.
Pillay said the department was assessing the environmental impact of the fire. Chemicals that were burnt during the blaze included propane, caustic soda, petroleum jelly, acetone and hydrogen peroxide.
The DA’s spokesperson for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Dave Bryant, has called on the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, to urgently investigate the explosion as well as Friday’s explosion at the Engen Refinery.
Bryant said the two explosions might have been a coincidence, but raised serious concerns about environmental safety and security and should be investigated.
