Newcastle employees land boss’s bakkie in a sewage pit

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Residents living in the railway houses along Paterson Street, Newcastle, witnessed a strange sight on Monday evening, 29 August 2022. This was after a bakkie, travelling in the area, drove into a hole, filled with a pool of sewage.

Transpiring shortly before 6 pm, the motorist explained that he was driving down the road and did not see the giant hole until it was too late.

“We were having coffee on our stoop when we heard a crashing noise. We made our way to the gate and saw the bakkie’s occupants jumping out before the vehicle went nose first in the sewage,” explained one resident.

Speaking with the vehicle’s owner, he explained his employees had the bakkie at the time of the incident—merely adding, “At least no one was hurt.”

Coming to their aid, community members rallied together and organised a tractor to help pull the vehicle out of the sewage pool.

While no injuries were reported, community members voiced their dismay regarding the hole, allegedly dug and closed by the Newcastle Municipality over a year ago. Concerningly, the hole, large enough to fit half a vehicle in, has no warning tape or blockades around it.

With the owner of the vehicle now looking at the Newcastle Municipality for answers, Newcastillian News attempted to contact the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Musa Thwala being the Chairperson for the Technical Services Portfolio and the Municipal Manager Zamani Mcineka for insight into the matter.

However, no comment was forthcoming at the time of the article being published.

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