Cable tunnel fire cuts Durban power

9 September 2011

A power cut in many parts of Durban on 7 September was caused by a fire in a tunnel housing a 132kV cable investigators have found. There was evidence of street dwellers seeking refuge in the tunnel, adjacent to the cable fire. It was estimated that the cable will cost millions of Rand to repair over two months of work. The tunnel was broken into twice despite sealing the area with concrete slabs, reported an electrical department spokesman for the eThekwini Municipality.