A five-year-old girl has been killed after a heavy municipal skip bin toppled and fell onto her at the Suryaville Flats on Jasmine Crescent in Newcastle.
The child had been playing hide-and-seek outside with her friends at the time of the horrific accident.
Communications Officer at the Newcastle SAPS, Lizzy Arumugam, said: “The child had been playing with other children when her mother called her to come up to the flat for a bath. The mother proceeded upstairs and upon checking through the window, noticed that a municipal skip bin had toppled over. Alarmed, she rushed downstairs and saw only two children standing nearby, looking in the direction of the bin.”
The mother then faced the devastating realisation that it was her own daughter trapped beneath the massive steel structure.
Arumugam continued: “She then discovered her daughter lying beneath the overturned bin, with only her head protruding. Overcome with hysteria, the mother screamed while attempting to lift the bin. Her brother came to assist, and together they managed to raise it. A neighbour helped pull the child out and carried her, but she was unresponsive.”
Neighbours assisted the frantic mother in transporting the child to the Newcastle Medi-Clinic, where trauma doctors attempted advanced resuscitation. Sadly, all medical efforts were unsuccessful, and the young child was declared deceased.
Arumugam confirmed: “Newcastle Detectives are investigating a case of Inquest.”
The Newcastle Municipality has since extended its deepest condolences to the grieving family. Municipal spokesperson, Musa Ngcobo, said the matter has been brought to the attention of municipal authorities for an internal investigation.
He said: “Once the municipality has received the necessary information and clarity on the matter, a formal statement would be issued.”
