Durban — A man was airlifted to hospital after sustaining burns at work on the North Coast on Monday afternoon.
IPSS Medical Rescue managing director Dylan Meyrick said the emergency service had received reports of an industrial accident.
“On arrival of paramedics, it was discovered that a 23-year-old male had sustained serious burn injuries whilst at work,” Meyrick said.
“The critically injured man was stabilised on scene by an IPSS Medical Rescue advanced life support paramedic before being airlifted by Netcare 911, via helicopter, to an appropriate medical facility for specialised burns treatment.”
In an unrelated incident in Gauteng in April, Emer-G-Med paramedics responded to the scene of an electrocution in the Silver Lakes area of Pretoria East.
Emer-G-Med spokesperson Kyle van Reenen said a man was working on a high-rise billboard when he made contact with high-voltage cables.
“The man suffered critical burns and a decision was made to airlift him through to a specialist facility for the definitive care that he required,” Van Reenen said.
In December last year, Medi Response paramedics and search and rescue division responded to reports of an industrial accident in Riverhorse Valley in Durban.
“On arrival of crews, it was established that a bitumen tank had exploded, resulting in a worker sustaining extensive burns,” Medi Response said.
“Paramedics worked to stabilise the critical man before he was transported to hospital for further care.”
South African National Burn Safety Awareness Week was commemorated in May.
The National Burns Association of South Africa said there were about 6 800 burn injuries a year, most of them in winter.
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