A fire injured four people at oil and chemicals group Sasol’s Sasolburg plant on Thursday morning.
The four have since been treated at the group’s on-site medical centre and discharged, Sasol spokesperson Johann van Rheede said on Thursday.
Earlier, trade union Solidarity claimed an explosion at the Sasolburg plant had caused the four people’s injuries. Three Sasol employees and one contractor were injured, the union added.
Van Rheede attributed the injuries to a fire at a flare line in Sasolburg.
”The four received counselling before being discharged. Sasol deeply regrets the occurrence of the accident,” he added.
The incident follows a ”huge fire” at Sasol’s Secunda plant last Saturday, according to Solidarity. Van Rheede confirmed the Secunda fire and added that no one was injured as a result of the blaze.
A total of 16 people have been killed at Sasol’s operations since July last year.
In its reaction, Solidarity called on Sasol for an emergency plan to implement new safety structures in the company.
Last week, Sasol released a report on safety by the international group DuPont.
”We were surprised by the content of the report, but the challenge now is to implement plans to address the problems that are identified in the report. The latest fire shows that a new safety plan and culture are of the utmost importance,” Solidarity said.
”We must deal with the issue as an emergency, and organised labour and Sasol must commit themselves to a more rapid process to change the current situation.
”We hope to sign a safety charter with Sasol within the next two weeks. Within the guidelines of the charter, we will aggressively work towards a safer Sasol,” the union said.
Solidarity also called for an immediate investigation into the latest fire. — I-Net Bridge