Home | News | MONTIGNY MILL WORKER LOSES HAND TO MACHINE

MONTIGNY MILL WORKER LOSES HAND TO MACHINE

Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font

MANZINI – Banele Dlamini’s life changed forever when he unknowingly leaned on a machine at work that later took away half of his left hand.


Dlamini (21) said he was employed by PMD and Montigny in Bhunya as one of the machine operators at the re-saw and had been working there for almost a year.
Speaking from his hospital bed at the Mbabane Government Hospital, Dlamini said the incident occurred after he had finished operating his machine and was cleaning up the debris.
He explained that his duty was to insert planks in the machine where they were cut and the person on the other hand received them.


“It was at about 8am on Monday, we were going about our normal duties. Mine was to insert the planks in the machine.
“We are always careful when we operate the machines. we wear gloves, safety boots, goggles and masks because small particles of the planks fly out of the machine when it is being operated,” Dlamini explained.
He continued to narrate that after he and his assistant had finished cutting the planks and turned off the machine, he decided to clean up to keep busy because the planks normally leave debris below the machine.
“I was standing next to another machine while cleaning the floor. I think I used my left hand to lean on it without noticing.


“One of the workers must have stepped on the footer and the chain on that machine started moving. This is when my hand got stuck in the sprocket and it was instantly cut off. I was in excruciating pain,” Dlamini lamented.
He said everybody started shouting frantically while others stood in complete shock at the sight of half of his hand and four fingers on the floor.
He added that others tried to help immediately to cover what was left of his hand as blood splattered all over the place.


“My supervisor was also there when the incident happened and immediately called an ambulance which took me to Mhlambanyatsi Clinic, where the nurses did their best to cover my wound and I was later taken to Mbabane Government Hospital,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini admitted that workers at the company took part in safety courses frequently and always wore their safety clothing when clocking into work.
When contacted, Andrew Le Roux, from management, said he was not aware of the incident and asked that he be called later after an investigation.

Comments (0 posted):

Post your comment comment

Please enter the code you see in the image:

: FPE grant
Should the free primary education grant increase based on inflation?