Letter: A narrow escape from serious injury

KEITH LOOCK of Ballito writes: Last Thursday I, my nephew of six and three other locals got trapped in what could have been a fatal incident by a mudslide at Thompson’s Bay tidal pool.

We had just arrived when l heard a noise behind me.

Turning around I saw trees, rocks and an avalanche of mud come pouring down the hill over us and into the tidal pool.

Apparently, it has to do with a broken pipe on top of the hill at Santorini. Some people lost cellphones etc being carried and buried in the pool. The lifeguards did not come to our aid even though we were buried under mud!

Onlookers were too scared to approach as they feared another mudslide. I think the public need to be made aware of this as Thompsons is very popular but at the moment very dangerous.

By the grace of God we survived with scratches, skin ripped off and holes from l think branches.

It could have been fatal had we been standing on the ledge. The municipality or whoever is responsible for a pipe that apparently has been broken for some time and needs to be held responsible.

KDM media liaison officer Sipho Mkhize replies: The mud slide was a result of a burst water main in Santorini property, for which they accept responsibility.

The cliffs surrounding Thompsons Bay are mainly rock with some top soil and vegetation so any heavy rain or a burst water pipe can trigger off these type of mud slides. At the time of the incident the lifeguards were monitoring swimmers at the bathing area and would not have noticed the incident happening around the pool.

However, the senior lifeguard was quick to respond and ensure that there were no injuries. He also monitored the Santorini staff while they cleaned up the mud around the pool.

An amount of mud did enter the swimming pool and discoloured the water which will clean on its own with the daily tidal flows.

This is the first time that an incident of this size has occurred. We do have from time to time small sections of rock that crumble off certain sections of the surrounding cliffs but there is a safety wall that catches most of this.