The community of Moakeng in Kroonstad ignored the risk of being roasted alive and went on to loot an overturned diesel tanker on Tuesday morning. Looting is indeed a culture that has found a home in our communities but when the risk involved is too high, it sometimes does not happen.
With the high fuel prices, others would justify joining the looting crew in the instance.
When police rushed to the scene of the accident, where a 28-year-old man had sustained injuries, they found several community members busy looting diesel from the tanker.
Free State police spokesperson, Sergeant Josephine Rani, said:
The 28-year-old man was travelling from Durban and was headed to Schweizer-Reneke in North West. As he was passing through Kroonstad, he lost control of the diesel tanker truck, causing it to overturn.
Rani said the driver was taken to hospital for medical treatment. She said that, upon arrival at the scene, police found residents illegally helping themselves to diesel from the tanker.
The police tried to disperse the residents, to keep them away from the hazardous scene. The residents, though, responded by throwing stones at the police.
“Welkom Public Order Police members were called to assist with the scene,” she added.
The acting commissioner of the Fezile Dabi district, Brigadier Mapulane Mbeloane, condemned the residents’ actions.
Mbeloane said: “It is so heart-breaking to see how our community members are at ease with putting their lives in danger, more especially seeing that children are also involved.”
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