A member of one of the employees from the eThekwini Municipality’s technical teams is seen installing a new air valve on a section of the Northern Aqueduct. Picture: eThekwini Municipality
An inquest docket has been opened after a man was killed while tampering with eThekwini Municipality’s infrastructure at the City’s northern aqueduct pipeline in Durban.
“The municipality can confirm that the deceased was found dismembered on site by the South African Police Service (SAPS) where the air valve was found tampered and ultimately removed causing excessive water from the trunk main pipeline to flood the chamber,” explained City spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana.
She said engineers from the City’s Water and Sanitation Unit have stated that anyone inside the chamber will get seriously injured or probably die due to the high pressure in the pipeline.
“If there is any evidence required by the police from the municipality, we will cooperate fully with the investigation,” Sisilana added.
The incident comes barely two months after the City announced interventions to restore water to the City's northern areas.
In February, eThekwini said interventions were being carried out on four sections of the Northern Aqueduct.
A total of 70 air valves were replaced and the City was working on replacing outstanding valves, this has cost approximately R7 million.
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