The death toll in an explosion at Sasol’s ethylene plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga, has climbed to seven, company spokesperson Johann van Rheede said on Monday.
He said Gert van der Sandt, who was in the intensive-care unit of the Highveld Medi-Clinic in Trichardt, died at about 3am on Monday morning.
The explosion, which occurred last Wednesday, claimed the lives of four contractors and two Sasol employees. More than 100 people were injured.
The plant, part of Sasol’s polymers chemical production division, was undergoing planned maintenance and there were several contractors on site at the time of the explosion.
Investigations into the blast, conducted by Sasol, the Department of Labour and police, began on Thursday after the site was declared safe.
Van Rheede said on Monday the probe is ongoing and will take ”a while”. — Sapa