Man plunges to death at Trekkopje

French uranium explorer, Areva, issued a statement on Thursday announcing a fatality at its exploration site at Trekkkopje.
“It is with sadness that AREVA Namibia confirms the death of Mr Petrus Kashango (38 years), employed by Cosira, the appointed contractor for the construction of mechanical plate work and piping at the Trekkopje Project over the past two years.”
Chief Inspector of Mines, Mr Mathews Amunghete, arrived at Trekkopje Mine on Thursday to conduct an official investigation.
A report by the Safety Department of the Trekkopje Project stated that a steel work crew was busy aligning the floor plates at an elevated platform on the Maxi screen building structure on Wednesday at 14:17. The deceased, a boilermaker, lost his footing and fell 24 metres to the ground and died on impact.
An average of 1800 contractors are working daily on site. The company celebrated 8 million hours of work without a lost time injury incident at the Trekkopje Project in July 2012.
“AREVA Namibia remains fully committed towards all stakeholders and chain of contractors in terms of safety on site in this much important development phase of construction and industrial first of its kind in the world,” said Hilifa Mbako, Country Manager of AREVA.