A serious incident occurred this morning in a quite suburb of Somerset West.
An elderly lady was visiting a family member in Monte Vista road when she left the residence to go home. Some kind of water main maintenance was taking place close to the family member’s house and had resulted in a large hole being dug in the road. The lady, aged 60, needed to cross the obstruction by means of a wooden plank, which was placed over the construction site.
The lady then allegedly slipped from the plank and fell into the hole. The hole was full of mud and gunk which trapped the ladies right leg, preventing her from stepping out of the hole.
When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene, the lady had been stuck in the muddy trap for no less than 90 minutes. Family members who heard the desperate cries of the lady had managed to dig her free from the mud with help from the local fire and rescue services.
Fortunately the lady sustained no physical injury, but was very cold after the ordeal. She later explained to the paramedics that her leg had become numb due to the cold. She was treated at the scene for hypothermia before being transported to Hottentots Holland provincial hospital for further medical care.
Andre Visser, ER24