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By Botho Molosankwe 
3h ago
Johannesburg – Two men died atrocious death after the Transnet pipeline exploded from which they were allegedly trying to steal fuel.
The men were rushed to hospital with serious injuries, but one died on arrival and the other the next day.
Mpumalanga Hawks spokesman Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said two men, ages 28 and 39, were arrested by members of Fidelity Security Thursday night in Kendal, near Phola.
He said someone in a Transnet control room had detected a fuel pressure drop in the pipeline.
According to Sekgotodi, the men had connected their generator to a valve in the pipeline to extract the diesel.
No one yet knows what happened, but an explosion occurred while they were busy extracting the diesel from the pipeline.
One of the men, believed to have been driving a tanker to transport the stolen fuel, fled the scene, leaving behind his two badly burned accomplices.
Sekgotodi said authorities responded to the identified location and detained a suspect who tried to flee.
“He had fresh burn marks all over his body. There was a large fire in the nearby cornfield and upon inspection they realized that the flames were from the burning Transnet pipeline.
“The Hawks Serious Organized Crime Investigation team and local law enforcement were summoned to the scene for further investigation. After an intensive search, a second suspect who was also badly burned was detained after he was found hiding under a bridge.
“The emergency services were summoned and the two suspects were transferred to the hospital under police surveillance. All the exhibits, which included a white Mazda bakkie, a generator and charred pieces of clothing, were confiscated for further investigation, ”he said.
A case involving intentional property damage, alteration of essential infrastructure and fuel theft was opened and the men were expected to appear in Phola Magistrates Court yesterday.
However, Sekgotodi confirmed that they had died.
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