Frozen fish kills man
2003-05-27 23:13
Cape Town - A man from Delft died in a freak accident on Tuesday when a fish fell on his head.
Ismail de Klerk, 48, was helping to unload fish in the Table Bay harbour when the accident happened.
Captain Keith Blake of the Table Bay police said De Klerk was standing on a container about 13:45 while a crane was unloading the cargo of frozen fish from the trawler Eros.
Johanel Henkins, spokesperson for De Klerk's employer, Dock Masters, said when large fish were being unloaded, ropes were tied to their tail and cranes lowered them five at a time. "One of the ropes snapped and the frozen fish landed on De Klerk's head."
Blake said De Klerk died a few minutes later.
"I do not know what type of fish it was, since the head had already been removed. However, it was a large fish and it looked like a marlin," Blake said.
No foul play is suspected.