Political party urges Engen to account for explosion damage

CALLS for Engen Refinery in Wentworth to account for the explosion on Friday morning, 4 December, has been echoed by political party, Cape Coloured Congress (CCC).

The party wants the oil company to account for the damage suffered by residents allegedly from the blast. The vice-chairman of the CCC in KZN, Lenny Joseph, in a statement said they are not going to stand by and allow the abuse of people, their living conditions and the negligent conduct of Engen any longer.

“It is clear that corporate governance is the least of the considerations of Engen’s management. The evacuation of people with underlying conditions was not at all considered by Engen.

“These were managed directly by community structures, who evacuated people to the safety of a nearby location to avoid any further toxic inhalation and the potential of a follow-up explosion. It is evidence of a failure in risk management and total disregard for the safety of the community.

“Private citizens took it upon themselves, without any support from Engen, to evacuate the elderly and the incapacitated, in an attempt to avoid another catastrophic episode,” he said.

Joseph said his party’s demands support from Engen for all the people in the vicinity to have respiratory testing, an assessment of the impact on the residents to be done and reported on in 14 days, including a follow-up respiratory testing mobile clinic be put in place for the duration of three to six months.

“Trauma support services be implemented with immediate effect to support the families who are traumatised by this experience – which must be further supported for a period of three to six months.

“Engen must initiate and ensure a full evacuation plan for the community and for the necessary safety drills to ensure that the evacuation plan is fully understood and implementable by the community should another incident of this nature occur.

“The evacuation plan must be concluded with all relevant structures of the communities affected by the Engen Refinery’s location,” he added.

Among the most affected residents are an elderly woman and her two grandchildren whose flat caught alight just after the explosion. They were taken to hospital with about eight more people, who assisted in their rescue, for smoke inhalation. Other occupants at the block of flats were later accommodated on the Bluff by the company while the KZN Department of Human Settlement assesses the damages in the block.

According to ward 68 councillor, Aubrey Snyman, other blocks of flats where window panes were shattered will have to be refurbished urgently. He said the community is still reeling in the shock, fear, stress and trauma caused by the explosion and fire.

“We as the community are still waiting for the much-needed Emergency Safety Evacuation Plans which the municipality is still looking into. It is something that has been requested by the community for some time now for them to know what is required of them in the event of a fire or an explosion like the one experienced on Friday.

“We need a local Emergency Evacuation Plan from the city, but it seems as though it’s fallen on deaf ears as we are still waiting. The community of Wentworth, Austerville, Merebank, Bluff and surrounding areas within the South Durban Basin are not safe at all living close to these petrochemical and industrial areas. The community is insisting that Engen closes down or moves to a place far away from any residential area,” he said.

Snyman added that the elderly woman and her two grandchildren experienced injuries like burns, smoke inhalation, stress and trauma. He said the woman lost most of her belongings in the fire such as her ID document, SASSA card and her pension money.

While Engen had not responded, in a previous statement to the SUN, the refinery’s PR consultant, Sam Walt, said the company regrets the Friday morning explosion. The blast which could be heard as far out as Westville North, some 22km away, and described as an earthquake feel, was contained within minutes.

“Engen regrets to confirm that a fire occurred at the Engen Refinery in Wentworth, at about 7.10am on Friday. Engen’s emergency response team and eThekwini emergency services were immediately mobilised to contain the incident. The fire was successfully extinguished at 8.45am and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation,” she said.

She assured that relevant authorities were informed and full co-operation was provided. “Engen will provide an update about the incident as soon as further information is available. Safeguarding the health, safety, and well-being of our people, community, and environment remains our utmost priority,” she added.

For updates and information, contact the Refinery call centre on the toll-free number on 080-033-0099.

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