Man dies in silo incident in South Africa

SAFEWORK South Australia is investigating the death of a man who died last week after becoming trapped in a silo in south-eastern South Africa.

SA Country Fire Service, police and ambulances were called to a property in Salt Creek at around 4.15pm on Friday after reports that a man was trapped in a silo.

A 63-year-old man died at the scene of the accident.

It is assumed that the silo was full of lupins at the time of the incident.

In a statement, South African police said they were preparing a report for the coroner.

According to SafeWork SA, several incidents have been linked to risks to worker health and safety in grain silos on farms, including:

• Falls from heights when climbing silos;
• Entanglement in the silo;
• structural failure or collapse; and
• be damaged by moving vehicles.

In January 2019, SafeWork SA investigated the death of a farm worker who apparently fell into a silo on a property in Kalanbi, north of Ceduna on the Upper Eyre Peninsula.

A year earlier, workers on a property near Mallala, north of Adelaide, were lucky and were not injured when a grain silo collapsed.

Following the incident, SafeWork SA inspectors conducted audits of the field silos and grain silos, focusing on maintenance and operating procedures.

Outside South Africa, the most recent silo incident occurred in February when a man became trapped under a silo on a property in Central Queensland, suffering significant leg injuries.

AgHealth Australia reports 32 deaths and 122 personal injuries on farms across Australia in 2023.

Tractors and quads were the leading cause of deaths and injuries on farms.