ANOTHER RSSC WORKER CRUSHED, KILLED BY MILL

The front view of the RSSC Mill. (Pic: Nosipho Shongwe)

MHLUME – Another Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation (RSSC) employee has been crushed to death at the Mhlume Sugar Mill.
The horrific incident happened at 9am yesterday when a female employee was crushed to death in the mill premises.

She was employed as a bagger within the sugar mill.
It was gathered that the female employee was chasing after a piece of paper that was floating towards the conveyor belts used during the crystallisation stage of the sugar when her clothing got attached to the machinery.
 “Her arm was stuck in the machine as she tried to retrieve the paper and it was crushed by the conveyer belts and was completely detached from her body,” revealed a source.

It is said that the employee, whose name is known to this publication, died from excessive bleeding after losing her arm.
The employee was already dead when an ambulance from the Mhlume Clinic arrived at the scene to offer assistance.
Her body was removed from the machinery.

The mood was sombre among employees at the mill yesterday as they went about their duties.
Information gathered revealed that the mill was shut down the moment the incident occurred and no production was recorded for the day.
Management was stuck in an over three hours meeting with safety officers and members of the Royal Swaziland Police after the incident.
Employees within the mill, who were present when the incident occurred, recorded statements with members of the Royal Swaziland Police on what they actually saw.

Members of the Police Serious Crimes Unit also known as Lukhozi arrived at the scene and were seen being briefed by other officers before entering the mill where the incident took place.

Police Assistant Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed the death of the RSSC employee.
“Yes we have received a report that a female RSSC employee died after being injured while on duty. We have no further details as yet as police are still investigating,” Mamba said.

RSSC Group Public Affairs Manager Sifiso Nyembe confirmed the tragic incident. When questioned, he said it was true that an employee had died in the mill yesterday morning.

“I was informed that an employee was fatally injured while working in the mill but I do not have details on what caused the incident. I am on my way to the scene of accident as we speak,” Nyembe said yesterday.

 In 2012, an employee went missing for three weeks and it was established that he had died within the mill after pieces of his flesh were discovered attached to parts of the company’s production machinery.

Lucky Sifundza went missing from his workplace at Mhlume Sugar Mill on May 23, 2012, shortly after clocking in for the 6pm shift and it was speculated that he had been killed by the ‘milling train’ because his whereabouts remained unknown.

Others speculated that he may have walked out of the building without clocking out.
Even then, the milling train was stopped and the entire plant was shut down from May 29 to May 30 to allow a comprehensive search of the premises including part of the mill and the boilers but no evidence was found.

“Pieces of cloth found in the mill did not match his clothes and simulation tests conducted on hard hats and gum boots similar to those he was wearing were inconclusive. After an extensive search, forensic tests were conducted.
“The results of these tests indicate that Mr Sifundza tragically lost his life while on duty,” the corporation said at the time.

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