Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit Jagersfontein in the Free State on Monday where one person died, 82 were hospitalised and several went missing when a dam wall burst in the area on Sunday morning.
Nearby Charlesville and Itumeleng were also affected.
“The president’s thoughts and prayers are with the families of [those] who lost their lives in the incident, which allegedly involved a pipe burst from a mine at Jagersfontein,” said the president’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya.
“The president wishes injured survivors a speedy recovery and a positive outcome in the search for missing residents of the Charlesville neighbourhood. The president appreciates the rescue and recovery efforts in which emergency services [officials] and police from towns surrounding the mine and from Mangaung are engaged.”
The flow of water was stopped and the immediate threat stabilised, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Sunday afternoon.
The National Disaster Management Centre deployed staff members to the affected area to assess the damage and impact, and to provide direct operational support.
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Search, rescue and relief operations are under way.
Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela said the provincial government activated the disaster management team and the Joint Operation Centre to determine the extent of the disaster.
Earlier, the premier’s office stated that three bodies had been recovered. It has since corrected this and said that there was only one confirmed death.
Eskom also reported that it had lost bulk supply to Centlec, the electricity distributor responsible for Jagersfontein, while four Eskom customers on the Fauresmith-Spitskop feeder, three on the Pompie-Rietkuil feeder and the Jagersfontein Mine were without power.
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