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An electricity pylon collapsed and fell on a house in Sunningdale, Table View on Sunday. Picture: David Ritchie
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Cape Town - A Sunningdale couple was lucky to be staying with relatives when an electricity pylon came crashing through their roof during a storm that hit Cape Town on Sunday morning.
It was one of a number of freak accidents around the peninsula during heavy rain and strong winds that saw flooding, a tree destroying a car when it fell down and a roadway partially collapsing.
A section of Strandfontein Road, between the intersections of Govan Mbeki and New Ottery Road, collapsed after a body of water caved out the support underneath the road.
The road has remained closed and it was expected that traffic would be affected on Monday as well.
In Tamboerskloof, a falling tree flattened a parked car.
Early Sunday morning, Leslie-Anne de la Guerra and Debi Cilliers were called to their home in Cherry Hills Crescent, Sunningdale.
They arrived to find emergency workers on their property where a high voltage pylon had crashed through the roof, destroying the better part of their living room, fireplace and kitchen.
The crash destroyed the geyser and taps, leaving the house flooded.
But all the couple could think of was their pets – three dogs and a cat which were still inside the house they were renting.
A distraught De la Guerra and Cilliers ran inside their house and emerged carrying their three soaked dogs, that were hiding under their bed.
They then went back inside to collect whatever valuables they could salvage.
The couple had panicked when they could not find their cat Niter, and it was still missing at the time of going to press on Sunday night.
De la Guerra said: “The pylon basically came down in the middle of the living room and the kitchen so the whole thing collapsed in the fireplace.
“The roof is open and the house is flooded. The geyser burst so it is havoc and chaos in the bedrooms.”
Homeowner Gerard Edinberry said the damage to the house was “severe” and would require rebuilding because of structural damage: “The water is still running so they are still trying to disconnect the water.
“We are expecting the roof to give in as well. Our insurance will be definitely knocking on Eskom’s door.”
It was around 8.30am when witness Robert Dixon saw lightning strike a cable, causing it to snap.
“It wrapped around the other cables and they all just started sparking and snapping.
“Then there was a loud bang, I thought it was the thunder but it was the (pylon) falling on to the house unfortunately,” he said.
Joe van Dyk, who lives in the house behind De la Guerra and Cilliers’s, also heard the sound of the pylon crashing into the roof: “Emergency Services and Eskom where quick to respond.”
Eskom spokeswoman Jolene Henn said: “We connected the customers via an alternative supply point to minimise the impact.
“Construction teams were on site to assess the damage and will commence with repair work once all assessments have beencompleted.”
She said the last time a high voltage tower collapsed in a city area was about six to seven years ago. “This is an unfortunate and unexpected incident but we have made contact with the family and we are assisting them as far as possible and advising them about the claims process to follow.”
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