Soapie actor breaks neck
2007-08-26 18:32
Johannesburg - The actor Erik Holm, who portrayed Walter in the soapie 7de Laan and is currently in a production of Fiela se Kind has been seriously injured in a freak accident - he dived into an artifical lake in Secunda and broke his neck on Friday.
The 25-year-old was playing Bejamin Komoetie in Fiela se Kind at the time of the accident.
Paramedics at the scene of the accident said he had broken the fifth vertebra in his neck and it was feared at the weekend that Holm could be paralysed.
He underwent an emergency operation on Saturday afternoon.
Eric was the character who hit Dezi over the head in 7de Laan, causing her blindness.
Producer Frans Swart said on Saturday they had been in Secunda for the production with Holm's fellow cast members Rika Sennett, Peter Butler, Cedwyl Joel and Chris van Niekerk.
"The actors decided after the performance to play volleyball with the local children. There was a man-made lake on the premises.
"When the ball fell into the lake, Eric decided to dive in. He must have misjudged the depth of the water, because he hit the bottom of the lake and injured his neck," Swart said.
Holm was immediately taken to the Highveld Medi-clinic and later transferred to a hospital in Pretoria where his condition was described as serious but stable by Saturday evening.
Holm is the son of famed entomologist and author Professor Erik Holm. Holm sen was not available for comment on Saturday.
"The actors had a huge fright. I think some of them are still shocked," Swart said.
Holm is regarded as a very talented actor. "I think Erik's unbelievable energy and zest for life will see him through this crisis.
"There's only one Erik and he's a bundle of energy who's always had a positive influence on the entire cast of Fiela," Swart added.
The Friday and Saturday performances of Fiela had to be cancelled, but the production will go ahead at the Aardklop festival (scheduled in Potchefstroom in September).