Fatal electrocution first in Cenored's 21-year history

The fatal electrocution that claimed the life of a Cenored employee last Thursday was the first workplace fatality in the utility's 21-year history, the company has confirmed.

Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Cenored spokesperson Chali Matengu said one of three injured employees remains hospitalised in Windhoek but has shown signs of improvement, while the other two have since been discharged.

"The guy that is still in the hospital in Windhoek was talking and responding yesterday, compared to before," Matengu said.

The accident took place while a technical team worked on a power line between Otavi and Tsumeb.

"The other two guys were discharged yesterday morning. They were only kept in hospital for observation, so currently we only have one person still admitted in Windhoek."

Matengu said the company is conducting a thorough investigation.

"When it happened, we couldn't really get verified information from everyone because they were all in a panic and we had to attend to those that were injured," he said.

Matengu added that after the two injured employees were discharged, they accompanied investigators back to the site to reconstruct the events leading up to the accident.

"We are waiting for feedback from our safety team and management as to what really happened and what they discovered," Matengu said.

Tragic loss

Matengu said the incident marks the first fatal workplace accident since Cenored was established in 2005.

"This is the first time that it has happened in the history of Cenored. Cenored has been in existence since 2005, so it's the first time that it has happened in 21 years," he said.

He said Cenored's chief executive officer, senior management and communications team visited the deceased employee's family following the tragedy and remain in contact with them.

"Our employees are insured for injuries and death. We spent time with the family, engaged them and assured them that we will continue supporting them," Matengu said.

Meanwhile, electricity has been restored to Otjinene after businesses and residents endured a prolonged outage that began on Wednesday.

Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Otjinene Village Council councillor Billy Katjatenja confirmed power had been restored following repairs by Cenored technicians.