On Wednesday afternoon, an explosion occurred at the Sappi Saiccor Mill at Umkomaas on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. No injuries were recorded.
According to the factory’s statement, the explosion occurred on a supplier truck delivering liquid oxygen for bleaching at the paper pulp mill.
“The on-site firefighting team of the Saiccor Mill responded immediately to the ensuing fire, assisted shortly thereafter by Durban Metro Fire and Emergency services.
“The fire was rapidly brought under control and ultimately extinguished.
KZN – Umkomaas: Sappi pic.twitter.com/PyciN0HHkz
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All personnel and on-site contractors were evacuated to safety and there have been no injuries.”
In addition, Sappi Southern Africa said it would like to assure the members of the surrounding community that the fire has been extinguished and that there is no danger with regards to any fumes from the liquid oxygen content.
“We express our sincere gratitude to the members of the Metro Services and to the quick reactions of our in-house teams for containing the fire rapidly and safely.”
Over the past weekend, six firefighters died after battling a blaze in Boston, near Hilton in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
The victims were working for Farmusa Contracting (Farmusa), a contractor to Sappi Forests for firefighting services.
In a statement, Sappi said they were providing assistance to fight fires on the Sterling Farm.
“The farm is adjacent to the Sappi Pinewoods plantation.
“Sappi was contacted shortly after 10am by the farm owner, seeking assistance with fighting the fires.
“A firefighting crew consisting of 16 people (15 Farmusa staff and a Sappi forester) was dispatched to the scene with three fire trucks.
“The adverse weather conditions contributed to uncontrollable fires which ultimately trapped eight members of the team. In the tragic events that ensued, three firefighters were unable to escape and suffered fatal wounds at the scene. While five escaped, three with severe burns were airlifted to hospital, but subsequently succumbed to their wounds. The other two remain in hospital.”