Men injured as street light pole crashes down on them

Durban - Two workers tasked with changing street light bulbs along the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal have been seriously injured when a pole came crashing down on them on Wednesday.

Netcare 911 paramedic Chris Botha said the accident happened on the centre median near King Shaka International Airport along the N2 in Durban on Wednesday morning.

Botha said when paramedics arrived at the scene they found two men on the ground.

“It is believed that the men were working on the lights that light up the highway. When the light pole is being changed, it sits on a hinge and when they work on the pole they need to pull out a pin so that they can change the bulb.

"It seems like something went wrong while they were doing this. The pole came down hitting both of them on the head,” explained Botha.

He said one man was in a critical condition and on a ventilator, while the other was in a serious condition. 

“Medics worked fervently to stabilise the two men and after placing one on a ventilator, and skilfully immobilising both patients on trauma boards, they transported them to a specialised facility for the care that they required.”