Three people died after a truck carrying more than 70 farmworkers lost control and rolled three times while driving on a gravel road.
Two women and a man died on the scene in Philadelphia, while the rest were transported to different hospitals.
The owner of the truck, who refused to be named, confirms the truck was transporting people from Wellington to a Durbanville farm on Tuesday morning.
He says: “This is my truck, it belongs to a company where I work in Wellington. I wasn’t with them when the accident happened, I came afterwards, and the people were taken to different hospitals. We are trying to locate all the people.”
Philadelphia police opened a culpable homicide docket for further investigation.
Police spokesperson Lt Col Malcolm Pojie says preliminary investigations suggests that the truck driver lost control on Occultdale Road near Philadelphia as he was transporting seasonal workers from Wellington at about 7am on Tuesday.
Pojie says: “The truck, which carried 70 passengers including the driver, overturned and three people succumbed to injury and a total of 58 passengers were transported to various hospitals in the region to receive medical treatment.
“Two of the injured were in a serious condition and were airlifted. The remainder, nine passengers, were treated on site. The investigation into this matter is ongoing.”
Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation Executive Director Billy Claasen says the transportation of farmworkers has become a hot debate in rural areas and the agricultural sector.
He adds: “We have highlighted this inhumane transportation of farm workers, and we want the national and provincial governments to come together and do something about this issue.
“Hardly a month goes by without hearing of a fatal accident where farmworkers are involved.
“This sometimes passed by unnoticed because not much attention was given to the issues of farmworkers, specifically in the wine industry where some producers want to exploit workers for cheap labour.
“We have pleaded for years to the Western Cape Government to address the transport issues of farmworkers. They play the blame game and shift their responsibility to the national government.”
However, Western Cape Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie says: “We have been consistent that individuals shouldn’t be transported in the back of bakkies and there must be an appropriate form of transport.
“We’ve had several operations throughout this period and several interventions when it comes to safety of worker transporter, scholar transport.”
Cosatu provincial secretary general Malvern de Bruyn urged farmers to “use buses or speak to taxi associations about transporting their employees”.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za