Strong winds kill E Cape man

2009-10-27 12:41

Port Elizabeth - A man was killed after heavy winds blew over a brick wall at his home in Addo in the Eastern Cape, police said on Tuesday.

"A man in his late 50s, Piet Crouse, was fatally injured last night, Monday, October 26, when a double wall of his brick home was blown over by last night's stormy winds," said Inspector Gerda Swart.

He and his wife were inside the house when the accident happened at 21:30.

"The ambulance services arrived and transported Crouse to the Kirkwood hospital, but due to the severity of his injuries, he passed away."

Gale-force winds

SA Weather Services forecaster Carl Loots said gale-force winds in the Cape Town area from Monday night had moved toward the Eastern Cape.

"The gale-force winds have shifted eastwards," he said.

The winds were expected to start moderating later on Tuesday.

A child was killed in the early hours of Monday morning in the Strand after winds uprooted a tree, causing it to crash into the bungalow where the family lived.

Cape Town disaster risk management services spokesperson Greg Pillay said this was the only fatal accident reported due to stormy weather in the Cape.

"The weather is still overcast and we've got strong winds but we haven't had any incidents since yesterday [Monday] morning," Pillay said on Tuesday.

Search for fisherman continues

Meanwhile, National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesman Craig Lambinon said the search was still continuing around 11:30 on Tuesday for a missing fisherman whose trawler capsized in rough seas.

Four of his mates drowned while a fifth one was rescued.

Loots said the rough seas in the Cape region had calmed down to below weather warning levels on Tuesday.

On Monday, rescue workers were battling swells of almost eight metres and winds of 57 knots (105km/h), conditions in which the vessel capsized at The Point.

- SAPA