EASTERN CAPE. – A truck driver has died after a truck carrying manganese ore and a trailer entered the water at Ngqura harbour in Gqeberha on Tuesday evening.
Craig Lambinon, NSRI spokesman, says the NSRI in Gqeberha was notified shortly after 18:00 that the truck was partially submerged and it was suspected that the driver, the only person in the vehicle, was trapped in the cab. Various emergency services and other role-players, including police, police divers, Transnet national border authority, Gqeberha fire and rescue service, emergency services and commercial divers, became involved in the rescue and recovery operation. Rescue 6 Alpha of the NSRI was deployed to assist with the operation.
A technical hoist system was used to lift the truck out of the water. The body of the adult male driver was found during the recovery and brought to shore by the NSRI. He was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics.
According to Coastal Water Rescue, the truck's cab was approximately five metres below the water surface. The front of the truck, which was carrying manganese ore, became separated from the trailer and apparently landed on the harbour floor, while the rear trailer remained on the quay. Circumstances that led to the accident are being investigated by police and authorities. The police have registered an inquest docket.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
