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A 44-year-old man drowned after allegedly attempting an illegal water connection in Lentegeur on Wednesday.
Police confirm an inquest has been opened for investigation after they had been called to the Salvia Street address.
“At about 04:30, Lentegeur police attended to the incident in Salvia Street. According to reports the deceased, a 44-year-old man, went to fix a water leak on the property. He had dug a hole from inside the property to under the pavement to access the water meter. In the process the deceased cut the water pipes, which burst, causing the ground to collapse and trap him. The deceased drowned during the incident. An inquest has been registered,” says provincial police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk.
However City of Cape Town officials suspect the man was attempting an illegal connection.
“The resident died while [allegedly] trying to make a connection to the City’s water main. After cutting the supply line, the hole he had dug to access the main filled with water and he drowned,” says Mayco member (South), Eddie Andrews.
“The body has been recovered and detectives from the police service were on the scene. The City is preparing a report for police on the incident. The City would like to offer its sympathy to those connected with the victim, and discourages others who might want to attempt something similar.”
Fire and Rescue Services were on the scene and had to dig up a pavement to retrieve the body.
Fire and Rescue spokesperson, Theo Layne, says: “The City’s Fire and Rescue Services responded to the incident. Unfortunately, the man had already passed away upon their arrival on the scene. The Fire and Rescue Services’s Technical Rescue Squad was called in and used specialised equipment to extract the victim.”
