The Hexrivier homeowner, Adri Hanekom, has resorted to complaining to her ward councillor, Mr Hennie Niemann, after the harmful smell has been choking them since 12 May.

Adri explained that the strange odour, which varies between a smell of gas, sulfur and sewerage, is at its strongest early mornings between 01:00 and 06:00.

She and her husband live in a complex, and originally thought it was a clogged drain. When the odour surfaced, they tried to trace it to its place of origin, but later wrote it off to one of the mines.

Her husband later observed that the smell was at its strongest, when he drives past the Middelburg Mall on his way to work.

Adri says that as an asthma sufferer, she has noted a visible decline in her health from whatever gas may be leaking. Her asthma has worsened and she has experienced ongoing chest pains.

“My husband is a healthy man and even he became ill. It got so bad that he could barely inhale and he even thought he had Covid-19.”

Ward Councillor, Hennie Niemann, said that he personally never experienced the odour, but did report it to the municipal health inspectors. He could not verify what the cause of the odour is.

Several reports confirmed that on 10 May, a large cloud of methane gas was detected by Kayrros SAS, a French analytical company, just 125 km east of Johannesburg.

According to Kyrros, the methane was released at an alarming estimate of 65 tons per hour, equating to the carbon emissions of 260 000 vehicles driving at 60 km p/h.

At the time, Sasol and Anglo America both denied that they were responsible for the leak.

The matter was flagged by environmental officials who are conducting an investigation which is still ongoing.

Adri mentioned that someone should measure the gas levels to determine where it is coming from, and that the matter should be attended to urgently because it is harmful to residents.

She was also curious to know whether other residents have experienced the same odour.

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