A Woodstock father died tragically over the weekend in an explosion caused by a gas leak inside the winkel where he worked.
The hartseer family of Vernard van Niekerk gathered at Groote Schuur Hospital on Saturday to say their final farewells as he passed on due to his injuries.
According to a report by Mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, the explosion at the building on the corner of Plein and Victoria streets in Woodstock on Thursday evening was followed by several secondary explosions shortly afterwards.
He says that preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was caused by a gas leakage, after two gas bottles were found inside the premises.
“The gas canisters were themselves still intact, but evidence suggests that gas was possibly been used for basic cooking purposes after a two-plate gas cooker was found towards the back of the shop in close proximity to the canisters.
“It is believed that due to the increased pressure of the larger canisters, a leak could have developed and since gas is heavier than air, it is believed that the gas created a ‘blanket’ that crept along the floor until the shop had become completely saturated, including soaking the clothes of the two victims unbeknown to them, as they were standing behind a counter close to the entrance of the shop.”
JP says the windows and shop front exploded out to the street, followed by debris from inside the shop.
“Due to the coincidental design of the shop front, where aluminium and glass was fixed between the structural pillars, it caused the softer material to be forced outwards allowing the pressure to easily escape, while leaving the structural pillars and formwork of the building undamaged,” he adds.
Daughter Astrid says the family were at home just three houses away from the winkel when they heard the explosion.
She says Vernard, a dad of five, had worked as an assistant at the superette at the time of the blast.
“The family lives just three houses down and heard the explosion but did not know it was the superette until they saw the flames. He was taken to Groote Schuur Hospital where they said he had 76% burns. They could not operate and were going to transfer him to Tygerberg, but his chance of recovery was not good,” Astrid says.
“They put the machines off on Friday night and he kept breathing on his own until Saturday, but due to the organ damage he passed on.
“The staff at Groote Schuur were kind and allowed us to say goodbye and explained the process to us.”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za