SWAZILAND PLANTATIONS EMPLOYEE CRUSHED TO DEATH

PIGG’S PEAK – At first, it appeared like someone’s clothes were hanging from a conveyor belt, yet it was in fact, the body of a 21-year-old employee of Swaziland Plantations.
The man had been crushed to death by a conveyor belt which is said to have first trapped his hand and head before pulling him along and causing fatal injuries. The incident took place just after midnight on Thursday at the company, which is located in Pigg’s Peak.

Contracted

The deceased, who is originally from Mankayane, is said to have been working for a company contracted to Swaziland Plantations.
On the fateful day, the man had been working the night shift. The name of the deceased will not be mentioned as his relatives had not been formally contacted by the time of compiling this report.

Remove

His duties included cleaning the area under the conveyor belt in that he was tasked to remove the sawdust to ensure that it does not pile up. According to insiders, while carrying out his duties, he was seen putting his hand on the conveyer belt and the assumption was that he was taking out sawdust or some plank.
Accidentally, the insiders allege his hand got trapped and it dragged him along.
As a result, the sources allege his head and upper body were trapped by the conveyer belt and crushed him in the process resulting in the fatal  injuries.
They said the man also sustained some injuries on his lower part of the body, in particular the waist and thighs.

Lifeless

According to the insiders the witnesses raised the alarm for help, but when others arrived at the scene, they found the lifeless body hanging from the conveyor belt.
They said when they came closer with the intention of assisting him; they discovered that he was already dead.

Since the machine was still running, the insiders said they had to switch it off and cut the conveyer belt in order to retrieve his body.
They said police were called and they responded promptly to the call and took the body to Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital, where he was certified dead upon arrival.
In the meantime, the insiders said the law enforcers recorded statements from various witnesses.

Confirmed

Meanwhile, the Swaziland Plantations’ Human Resources Manager, Goodman Dlamini, confirmed the incident. Dlamini also confirmed that the man was actually employed by one of their contractors tasked to clean the working area.
On the other hand, the human resources manager said the circumstances which led to the man’s death were still being investigated as the matter had been reported to the police.
He said it was not clear how the person ended up being pulled in by the conveyor belt as he was found trapped.

Dlamini further said even the person who was working near the deceased could not confirm what exactly happened as he did not see how the man was injured.
“We can only give a more detailed explanation once the investigations are complete,” said the human resources manager. 
Moreover, Dlamini said the company would make sure that the incident would be thoroughly investigated by labour officials as well as the police.
Yesterday, police officers from the Pigg’s Peak Police Station were spotted at the accident scene where they spent several minutes collecting information on the fatal incident. By that time, the accident scene had been cordoned off.

Investigations

In fact, the human resources manager mentioned that the section where the accident took place had been closed for the better part of yesterday morning as investigations were still ongoing.
He said work would resume as soon as police officers and occupational health and safety officials had finished collecting the necessary evidence.

On the same note, the Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer, Inspector Nosipho Mnguni, confirmed the incident.
She said the matter was reported to the Pigg’s Peak Police Station but referred further questions to the company as the police were still investigating.

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