South Africa: Two Farm Workers Die in Milk Cooling Tank On Eastern Cape Dairy Farm

By Anita Dangazele

Police and rescue teams used a rope system to lower a constable into the narrow tank to recover the two bodies at a Humansdorp dairy farm.

Both men were employees of the dairy farm. Police have opened an inquest docket and the circumstances of their deaths remain unclear.

The bodies of two men were recovered inside a milk cooling tank on a dairy farm in Humansdorp, in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday.

Police were called to the farm at about 4.29pm and what they found required a full rescue operation to resolve.

The South African Police Service's Search and Rescue Unit worked alongside Humansdorp Emergency Medical Services, EMS Training and Humansdorp Fire Rescue to recover the bodies. They used a 3:1 rope system to get inside the tank.

The tank was narrow enough that rescuers had to select a specific officer for the job. Constable Emilio George was chosen because of his body build. He was fitted with a long-line full-face breathing apparatus and lowered down into the confined space beside the tank's spiral cooling rod.

Both men were found face-down in the water. They were carefully brought out through the narrow gap and transferred to EMS, who declared them dead on the scene. The men were 27 and 54 years old. Both were employees of the farm.

Police spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy confirmed the deaths and said an inquest docket has been opened.

The circumstances that led to both men being inside the tank remain unclear.

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