Eastern Cape transport dept crew robbed while repairing flood-damaged road

News24

8 hours ago

A provincial transport department crew was robbed while repairing a flood-damaged road in Cala, Eastern Cape.
Gunmen stole the crew's bakkie.
The robbery comes days after humanitarian aid workers were intimidated while assisting people affected by flooding in the province.
A group of armed men robbed provincial transport department construction workers who were sent to repair a flood-damaged road in Cala in the Chris Hani district in the Eastern Cape.
'The incident occurred in Cala late [on Wednesday] as the workers were out to attend to a rural bridge damaged by the recent floods in a village in Cala,' Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha said.
'A bakkie driven by a group of balaclava-clad men armed with rifles approached them while working at a nearby quarry,' Nqatha added.
He added that the men tied up the workers, demanded keys to their bakkie, and removed several tyres from their tipper truck.
'They loaded them onto the stolen bakkie, and both bakkies sped off, leaving the [crew] stranded but unharmed,' Nqatha added.
The incident comes only days after Gift of the Givers Foundation aid workers were intimidated while providing essential aid to flood victims in Mthatha on Saturday.
According to the OR Tambo District Municipality, the workers were threatened by people who demanded that they stop supporting hundreds of displaced residents affected by recent flooding in the province.
Police are now escorting Gift of the Givers teams when delivering essential aid to affected people.
The Mthatha area was the hardest-hit part of the province with 68 of the total death toll of 92.
Two bodies were found on Wednesday night, including that of a teenage girl, Premier Oscar Mabuyane said in a statement. It was discovered along the Mthatha River.
Mabuyane added: 'The provincial government continues to work tirelessly to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to 4 308 individuals who have been left homeless across the province, and processes are under way to ensure the provision of temporary residential units. Significant progress has also been made in the restoration of critical infrastructure,' he said.
The premier said an intensive response and recovery effort was under way.