On February 22 1994, most of the Virginia suburb of Merriespruit had just settled in bed when water rushed under their front doors. After a sudden cloudburst earlier that evening this was the first sign that something was very wrong.
Just 300m away from the closest house a tailings dam had burst its banks and a wall of acidic mud was headed towards the unsuspecting residents.
By the time the sun rose the next morning, Merriespruit was devastated — 17 people had lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. Though at first glance this seemed to be an act of nature, the truth was the dam had been a disaster waiting to happen. The true cause of the incident , it seemed, was negligence.
In episode 85 of True Crime SA, we delve into the events of that dark night and the action taken by those in charge of the tailings dam up to a year before the disaster occurred.
For more episodes, click here.
Community Intervention Centre (24-hour trauma helpline): 082-821-3447
Join the conversation on Twitter at #TrueCrimeSA
E-mail the show: info@killeraudiocreations.com
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
True Crime South Africa
PODCAST | The night the mud came: the Merriespruit disaster
Image: Minerals Council South Africa
Listen to the story:
On February 22 1994, most of the Virginia suburb of Merriespruit had just settled in bed when water rushed under their front doors. After a sudden cloudburst earlier that evening this was the first sign that something was very wrong.
Just 300m away from the closest house a tailings dam had burst its banks and a wall of acidic mud was headed towards the unsuspecting residents.
By the time the sun rose the next morning, Merriespruit was devastated — 17 people had lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. Though at first glance this seemed to be an act of nature, the truth was the dam had been a disaster waiting to happen. The true cause of the incident , it seemed, was negligence.
In episode 85 of True Crime SA, we delve into the events of that dark night and the action taken by those in charge of the tailings dam up to a year before the disaster occurred.
For more episodes, click here.
Community Intervention Centre (24-hour trauma helpline): 082-821-3447
Join the conversation on Twitter at #TrueCrimeSA
E-mail the show: info@killeraudiocreations.com
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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