Truck falls into hole as road collapses in Lavender Hill

A City of Cape Town employee sustained minor injuries when a refuse truck fell into a hole in Depsiton Crescent, Lavender Hill, on Monday morning.

According to residents, some members of the waste management team were collecting garbage on foot near a block of flats while the truck continued making its way towards De Waal Court.

They suddenly heard a noise and saw the truck sinking where the road had collapsed.

The driver and a woman employee who was riding at the back were in the vehicle when it sank into the hole, said a resident who did not want to be named.

Ward 110 councilor Shanen Rossouw refuted the claim that there had been a water leak where the incident happened which had been reported over the weekend to the City of Cape Town.

“We are going to have a meeting now with the relevant officials so that we can have a way forward. We will cordon the area off at the moment,” Ms Rossouw said on Monday morning.

The Mayoral committee member for urban waste management, Grant Twigg said there had been no visible signs of damage on the road surface.

Contingency measures were being put in place to ensure minimal delays to refuse collection services in the area. “Counselling is also available for staff if need,” said Mr Twigg.

Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City’s Fire and Rescue Service, said they had received a call at approximately 9.05am of a truck stuck in a hole in Lavender Hill.

“We dispatched a technical rescue vehicle with a crane and a crew from Wynberg to have the truck removed from the roadway. An adult female sustained minor injuries and was transported to hospital.”

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is investigating the incident including its cause, said Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral committee member for water and sanitation.

“The main priority at this stage is to ensure the area is structurally safe to recover the vehicle and then the necessary assessment of the area can be done to determine the cause of the incident, among which is a sewer collapse,” Mr Badroodien said on Monday.

“SAPS as well as the City’s Law Enforcement were also called to the site.”