Saiccor - The First 50 Years 5.8 MB - Sappi

The First Fifty Years
still not unusual, but by 7�00 pm it was 9,1 m� This was a crisis� By
7�30 it was 11,3 m and disaster had struck�
The factory was running at full capacity at the time� Shift
Superintendent Domenico Sabbatini was aware that the river level
was rising, but as no alarm had been indicated, he had not taken any
action� The sheeting machine Chargehand took the first shutdown
action when water started to run through the building�
Renzo Scarpa, the Chargehand in the power station, tripped the
generators at 7�47 pm� A short while later Eskom failed after flashing,
leaving the factory dead except for some emergency lights, and out
of communication as the telephone had been out of action since the
previous evening when the line had been blown down in a storm�
The factory was submerged in about 2 m of water, which was flowing
swiftly across the entrance and between the buildings�
Mortimer was the first to go to the factory on the normal road,
with Brannigan a little behind� Mortimer drove into the river at
Cannonby siding, Brannigan stopped further up the hill and went to
rescue Mortimer� They were both swept into the cane field and had
to swim for their lives, and both their cars were submerged�
Bill Hastie arrived at the factory at 8�00 pm, using the original
South Coast road� Hans Ainhirn, the manager of the South Barrow
hotel, Mackenzie and a few employees, were already there� Ainhirn
went back for a rope, while Mackenzie went to fetch Brannigan and
Mopping up operations after the flood, 1959
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