RECAP: High drama in Richards Bay
A case of trespassing and malicious damage to property is being investigated
RICHARDS BAY was trending on social media for most of Monday – for all the wrong reasons.
A man, believed to be in his early 30s, locked himself inside the drivers’ enclosure of a construction crane, some 45 metres above the ground, and refused to come out for almost an hour.
A police negotiator was called in to reason with him and he eventually gave in, allowing himself to be escorted down the towering machine and straight into the back of a police van.
According to reports the man had climbed into the crane, which is standing on the construction site of the new Richards Bay Medical Centre on Lira Link road on Sunday afternoon.
He settled in for the night and was found on Monday morning by construction workers.
IPSS Medical Rescue’s Richard Schouten together with SAPS Empangeni Search and Rescue members as well as City of uMhlathuze firefighters made the treacherous journey to the top of the crane and eventually were able to convince him to come down.
The man had initially told Schouten and police that he was not alone, which led to reports that it was a hostage situation.
Only later did it emerge the man was entirely on his own.
Richards Bay SAPS spokeswoman Captain Debbie Ferreira said a case of trespassing and malicious damage to property was being investigated.
She could not on Monday afternoon confirm what the reason was for the man locking himself inside the machine.
The busy street, which runs directly behind Netcare The Bay Hospital, was closed for more than an hour as rescue efforts continued.
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