A man inspecting the side of a building in Johannesburg’s Fox Street fell to his death on Monday afternoon, Emergency Services spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said on Tuesday.
The man, who has not been named because his family in the United Kingdom still have to be informed, was moving along the side of the building in a ”gondola” suspended from the top of the building, inspecting granite slabs to check that none would fall on to pedestrians, Midgley explained.
However, a tube attaching the gondola arm to the supporting cable snapped off, sending the man falling about six storeys, Midgley said.
A pedestrian was also seriously injured as pieces of the gondola bounced off trees and fell to the ground. He had a dislocated shoulder and a chest injury and was taken to Johannesburg General hospital.
Police spokesperson Captain Schalk Bornman said the police and the Department of Labour would conduct an investigation. — Sapa