Buffalo City Metro will have to fork out thousands of rands to compensate a Duncan Village family after their home was damaged when a 30-metre municipal floodlight mast toppled onto their home on Saturday.Four people, including two children aged six and seven, sustained injuries in the incident that destroyed the lounge area of the four-roomed house.
A vehicle which had been parked next to the house was also damaged by the falling mast that had been installed reportedly more than 20 years ago.
The Daily Dispatch was informed by a ward councillor yesterday that the disaster had been caused by corrosion to the mast.
Employees from Designer Lighting, a company that was appointed by the metro to maintain more than 100 of its floodlight masts, were busy yesterday cleaning up the mess left by the collapse.
Owner of the affected house Lindiwe Ndamase told the Dispatch yesterday that she wanted BCM to pay for the damage caused to her home which housed 13 people.
“They must pay because it was their pole that collapsed on my house. We have never seen anything like this before. One child is still in hospital with a broken leg and a cut on his face.
Luckily the other one who sustained a head injury came back the same night from hospital with one of the injured women,” Ndamase said, explaining that the other woman would seek medical attention today.
An injured Veliswa Ndiki said she thought they were being shot at or that a bomb had exploded when the light collapsed.
“I was in the lounge with my mother and other people; we were reading the Bible at around 4pm and we just heard a big sound and next thing I saw bricks coming over our heads and everything just collapsing,” Ndiki said, adding that her seven-year-old son began bleeding from a wound on his head and had to be rushed to hospital.
Nosiphiwo Ndiki who was in the bedroom when disaster struck said the family was grateful that no life had been lost as the situation could have been worse.
Yesterday BCM mayor Alfred Mtsi, ward councillor Mongezi Ngcaba, together with disaster management officials, visited the family and promises were made that assistance would be sent to the affected people.
“We could have died in this house but we are really grateful that no one did. Our municipality does not maintain their infrastructure. These poles are old. We have lost everything that was in that lounge which we also used as a bedroom at night,” Ndamase said.
Ngcaba said an inspection indicated that the bolts that were holding the mast in place were damaged by corrosion.
“Designer Lighting has made a promise to the mayor to check all the floodlights now. When I asked about the lifespan of these things they failed to answer me. The mast is old, probably close to 30 years.
“The metro will have to compensate and there are different compensations that need to be done. We hope the metro’s housing department will come through and that the South Africa Social Security Agency (Sassa) will also assist us in helping that family,” Ngcaba said. —mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Family demands compensation after mast collapses on home
Four people, including two children aged six and seven, sustained injuries in the incident that destroyed the lounge area of the four-roomed house.
A vehicle which had been parked next to the house was also damaged by the falling mast that had been installed reportedly more than 20 years ago.
The Daily Dispatch was informed by a ward councillor yesterday that the disaster had been caused by corrosion to the mast.
Employees from Designer Lighting, a company that was appointed by the metro to maintain more than 100 of its floodlight masts, were busy yesterday cleaning up the mess left by the collapse.
Owner of the affected house Lindiwe Ndamase told the Dispatch yesterday that she wanted BCM to pay for the damage caused to her home which housed 13 people.
“They must pay because it was their pole that collapsed on my house. We have never seen anything like this before. One child is still in hospital with a broken leg and a cut on his face.
Luckily the other one who sustained a head injury came back the same night from hospital with one of the injured women,” Ndamase said, explaining that the other woman would seek medical attention today.
An injured Veliswa Ndiki said she thought they were being shot at or that a bomb had exploded when the light collapsed.
“I was in the lounge with my mother and other people; we were reading the Bible at around 4pm and we just heard a big sound and next thing I saw bricks coming over our heads and everything just collapsing,” Ndiki said, adding that her seven-year-old son began bleeding from a wound on his head and had to be rushed to hospital.
Nosiphiwo Ndiki who was in the bedroom when disaster struck said the family was grateful that no life had been lost as the situation could have been worse.
Yesterday BCM mayor Alfred Mtsi, ward councillor Mongezi Ngcaba, together with disaster management officials, visited the family and promises were made that assistance would be sent to the affected people.
“We could have died in this house but we are really grateful that no one did. Our municipality does not maintain their infrastructure. These poles are old. We have lost everything that was in that lounge which we also used as a bedroom at night,” Ndamase said.
Ngcaba said an inspection indicated that the bolts that were holding the mast in place were damaged by corrosion.
“Designer Lighting has made a promise to the mayor to check all the floodlights now. When I asked about the lifespan of these things they failed to answer me. The mast is old, probably close to 30 years.
“The metro will have to compensate and there are different compensations that need to be done. We hope the metro’s housing department will come through and that the South Africa Social Security Agency (Sassa) will also assist us in helping that family,” Ngcaba said. —mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos