2018 Denel explosion (Somerset West)

WAslayer said:
Wife's uncle used to work for Denel at that location.. He might still, she is not sure.. have not been in touch with him for a while..
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Wife's uncle still working there.. fortunately he is okay, but not sure whether he was there when it happened or on his way home already..

Regardless, the man is very shook up and upset, so much so that he is flat out refusing to talk to anyone about it, in person or over the phone..
 
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45402004

At least eight people have been killed in an explosion at a munitions factory in South Africa, a spokesman for the fire and rescue services has said.

The incident happened in the Somerset West district near Cape Town during the afternoon.

The cause of the blast is not yet known but an eyewitness reported seeing a huge fireball from 5km (3 miles) away.

Firefighters are continuing to search for others believed to be trapped.

The Rheinmetall-Denel plant is joint owned by German-South Africa companies and manufactures munitions and explosive products for the South African military and police, as well as international clients.
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MightyQuin said:
1998 I think...
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Late 80's as I remember the blast waking me up in Gordon's Bay, thought the ANC had blown up the police station next door. Back then two people I believe lost their lives and we where spun a story that nobody questioned.

There was also the sulphur fire from the mid 90's that hit the local Macassar community and two brothers died.
 
WAslayer said:
Wife's uncle still working there.. fortunately he is okay, but not sure whether he was there when it happened or on his way home already..

Regardless, the man is very shook up and upset, so much so that he is flat out refusing to talk to anyone about it, in person or over the phone..
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Eish, it must be hard, losing eight people like that, strength to the survivors, moving on won't be easy.
 
Just being in close proximity but out of range from shrapnel is enough to cause serious hearing damage and properly rattle your nerves for months.
 
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'I'm waiting for him to come home' - wife of Denel munitions casualty

For more than 20 years, Nico Samuels worked at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition Depot near Somerset West, walking to the facility early every morning from his home, less than 200 metres away.
He reported for duty for the last time on Monday.

Samuels, 41, was one of the casualties in an explosion which literally shook neighbouring Macassar and several surrounding neighbourhoods.
Among the people who felt the blast was Samuels' wife Lawrencia, who went to her husband's workplace to find out if everything was "alright".

"I tried to find out what had happened, but nobody gave us any answers. A number of people were already there. Then they started calling names, asking relatives to go to the boardroom.
"That's when I knew something was wrong."
She left, not wanting to hear what she feared most.
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More at: https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/...ome-wife-of-denel-munitions-casualty-20180903
 
cbrunsdonza said:
Late 80's as I remember the blast waking me up in Gordon's Bay, thought the ANC had blown up the police station next door. Back then two people I believe lost their lives and we where spun a story that nobody questioned.

There was also the sulphur fire from the mid 90's that hit the local Macassar community and two brothers died.
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I remember late 90's as I was working and living at a wine cellar during that time, just outside Somerset West. The shockwave made my house's curtains blow in nearly horizontally....
 
HeftyCrab said:
Heard on the radio an investigation starting this morning. Doubt the findings will be made public though. Well just get some PR hogwash.
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One problem would be that the evidence as to what happened will have been destroyed in the blast.
 
garyc said:
One problem would be that the evidence as to what happened will have been destroyed in the blast.
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Thought of that as well, unless they have a streaming camera feed to a remote location (which is probably likely?).

Can the at least see the feed up until the point of detonation.
 
Just got back from visiting the wife of one of the victims. She still has not seen the body and they are busy recovering body parts.

Is a very tragic situation with no news about what transpired. It's still early in the investigation so official news will be limited.

8 fatalities and no injuries.

Its very difficult for her 2 young sons who are still only processing the fact that their father will not be home. Having my son visit them did help. He was working there for 21 years and was one of the supervisors.
 
a Friend off mine also died in a blast, they recognize him with his ring and a short piece of finger.
 
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