Cape Town - Delft residents have pleaded with the authorities to step in after a woman was killed by a gas tank that was flung from a scrapyard and hit her on the head.
The body of the unknown woman was found across the road from where people cut scrap metals.
The plastic bags she carried were near her body and the tank was a few metres away from her.
The woman was walking along the road on Sunday afternoon at about 5pm when the freak accident occurred.
Concerned community members stood along Hindle Road and watched as the police guarded the scene until she was taken away by pathologists.
Resident Fundiswa Gona said: “The woman was alone when this happened, so we don’t know who she is and where she was going.
“She was hit in the head, fell on the ground and died, but it took some time for her to die. She was in a lot of pain and part of her face was severely burnt. I guess the tank had a flame.
“What we know is that the scrapyard people were busy cutting the oxygen tank when it slipped from them and flew across the road.”
She said as soon as the incident happened, the scrapyard closed.
“They didn’t open yesterday. We don’t know if it was because of the death of the woman.
“But we are happy about the closure because we don’t know how it was allowed to operate for this long.
“We don’t understand how this scrapyard was opened in a residential area. Such establishments should be opened somewhere far from people.”
Another resident, Charlene Williams, said informal scrapyards needed to be banned.
“The authorities need to intervene, especially now after we have seen that it is dangerous for people.
“That woman was not walking past the people but was about 100m away, but that tank managed to hit her.
“What will happen next? Who will be killed next? Something must be done, we can’t be running away from bullets and also oxygen tanks flying around. This is not even a scrapyard because the person stands outside and cuts scrap.”
Delft police attended the incident and upon arrival in Purgen Street, they found the body of an unknown women who sustained a fatal injury.
“Reports suggested that the female was hit by a flying object from a nearby premises. The suspects fled and are yet to be arrested,” police said.
Delft police registered an Inquest for further investigation.