A man was killed while tampering with an eThekwini Municipality main water pipeline chamber near Riverhorse Valley, north of Durban last Thursday, April 4.
The man was said to have been “blown apart” by an explosive jet of highly pressured water. He was allegedly tampering with an air valve on the main water pipeline when the incident happened.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) are still investigating the events leading up to the explosion. They have confirmed that an inquest docket was opened, said Colonel Robert Netshiunda.
“Human body parts, a hand and a leg were found near a main water pipeline chamber near Riverhorse Valley,” said Colonel Netshiunda.
“The security guards noticed that the water levels at the depot was flowing inconsistently and on investigation they found body parts in the pipelines. We are not able to confirm how the body parts got into the pipeline.”
The damages caused by the burst water pipe led to water cuts in northern parts of Durban including Phoenix, Verulam and Umhlanga.
Police said the man could have been a scrap metal thief or may have deliberately tried to tamper with the pipelines.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the municipality can confirm that the deceased was found dismembered on site by the SAPS. She said the air valve was tampered with and removed causing excessive water from the trunk main pipeline to flood the chamber.
“Engineers from the city’s Water and Sanitation Unit have stated that anyone inside the chamber will get seriously injured or probably die because of the high pressure in the pipeline. The incident caused serious water challenges, the northern aqueduct had to be shut down due to the incident and severity of the impact caused by the damaged air valve. As a result, communities in some parts of Umhlanga, Phoenix and Verulam were without water and the city worked around the clock to restore water supply to affected areas,” said Ms Sisilana.
