‘Swaziland plantations employee crushed to death’ 25 July 2020

At first, it appeared like someone’s clothes were hanging from a conveyor belt, yet it was in fact, the body of a 21-year-old employee of Swaziland Plantations. The man had been crushed to death by a conveyor belt which is said to have first trapped his hand and head before pulling him along and causing fatal injuries. The incident took place just after midnight on Thursday at the company, which is located in Pigg’s Peak. The deceased, who is originally from Mankayane, is said to have been working for a company contracted to Swaziland Plantations.

…His duties included cleaning the area under the conveyor belt in that he was tasked to remove the sawdust to ensure that it does not pile up. According to insiders, while carrying out his duties, he was seen putting his hand on the conveyer belt and the assumption was that he was taking out sawdust or some plank. Accidentally, the insiders allege his hand got trapped and it dragged him along. As a result, the sources allege his head and upper body were trapped by the conveyer belt and crushed him in the process resulting in the fatal  injuries.

…Meanwhile, the Swaziland Plantations’ Human Resources Manager, Goodman Dlamini, confirmed the incident. Dlamini also confirmed that the man was actually employed by one of their contractors tasked to clean the working area. On the other hand, the human resources manager said the circumstances which led to the man’s death were still being investigated as the matter had been reported to the police. He said it was not clear how the person ended up being pulled in by the conveyor belt as he was found trapped…In fact, the human resources manager mentioned that the section where the accident took place had been closed for the better part of yesterday morning as investigations were still ongoing. He said work would resume as soon as police officers and occupational health and safety officials had finished collecting the necessary evidence.