ABOUT 20 FOLK AFFECTED BY UNKNOWN CHEMICAL

SIPHOFANENI – At least 20 people confirmed yesterday that they were directly affected by a chemical that was sprayed by a plane that had been spraying nearby sugar cane fields at Siphofaneni.
It has also been confirmed that the incident happened last Tuesday morning.

Most of those who complained were women who alleged that they were sprayed while out in the fields harvesting their crops.
The residents have raised concerns that they don’t know what would happen to them after inhaling the chemical or coming into contact with it.The actual name of the chemical could not be ascertained yesterday.

One of the affected women, Nondumiso Ngcamphalala (30), who claimed to have been coughing blood after inhaling the chemical, said she was in the maize fields with her brother, Gcinumuzi, who also complained of severe chest pains.
“After the incident, I started coughing and sneezing.

“To my surprise, blood started coming out through my nostrils each time I coughed.
“This also happened to my 28-year-old brother.

“We went back home dizzy and experienced severe thirst.
“We didn’t realise what was going on until we heard that other residents were suffering from the same symptoms.

“We now realise that we started feeling sick and dizzy after the plane had sprayed the chemical into the air and it seriously affected us.
“After investigations, it transpired that indeed the people were affected by the chemical that was sprayed by the plane over the nearby sugar cane fields.
“I am not the only one affected at home but even those who use water stored in tanks also fell ill,” Ncamphalala said.

Some school-going children, found at their respective homesteads, claimed that they could not go to school after inhaling the chemical as they were feeling sick. However, some of them said they had not been to hospital.

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