Monrovia-One person identified as Saah Samukai lost his life Monday in a terribly brutal and tragic explosion at Sethi Ferro Fabrik in the Chicken Soup, Gardnersville Community, in addition to a few serious injuries currently being treated.
Footages from the scene showed a near mutilated body of the dead employee as a result of the explosion with one of his legs completely chopped off and detached from his body a few yards apart.
Some of the employees who managed to rush on the scene could be seen with the detached leg of the deceased colleague covered in the dust created from the explosion.
The cause of the accident, which has left the employees population and community terrified, could not immediately be established, but it comes almost three years after another traumatising explosion that similarly injured seven employees.
However, some eyewitnesses around the factory told our reporter that some workers have been complaining to management about proper safety mechanisms, but with little or no attention at all.
Some of them have turned their attention to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling on it to ensure that safety and other protective and compliance measures are put in place at Sethi to avoid reoccurrence of such tragedies.
It can be recalled that on August 19, 2021, the steel factory dedicated in July of 2019 by then President George Manneh Weah experienced another blast or explosion and in which at least seven persons were injured.
The injured employees were rushed to the JFK Hospital for medical attention and treatment. It’s unknown if every one of the injured seven employees came through or not.
The Sethi Ferro Fabrik Incorporated modern steel manufacturing company in Gardnerville is one of the chains of companies owned and operated by Seth Brothers, Inc.
The 2021 explosion at the facility occurred during the early morning hours of Wednesday, August 18, and the victims include four Liberians and three expatriates.
Eyewitnesses at the time said the explosion occurred following a shock on an electric induction furnace used to melt steel by one of the workers at the facility.
They also stated that the explosion was prevented from spreading due to the intervention of members of the company’s safety team backed by some workers on the scene when the incident occurred.
It was reported that the workers used fire extinguishers and water to reduce the intensity of the explosion.
It was the first explosion experienced at the facility, and one employee said some of their colleagues were injured but life-threatening.
But it was gathered that the explosion drew community dwellers’ attention as well as commuters and passers-by.
The Management at the time through General Manager, Siafa Morgan, described the incident as an “unfortunate accident,” and disclosed that the management had though measures in place at the facility to prevent or avoid explosion or fire outbreak at the company.
He said the electric arc furnace equipment, which caused the explosion, was brand new and modern equipment.
At the time, it was disclosed that Sethi Ferro Fabrik Incorporated modern steel manufacturing company has more than three hundred Liberians in its employ.
The management, in a statement to the effect, acknowledged the incident, which resulted in the death of an employee assigned at the Oxygen Plant.
The management expressed profound regrets and extended condolences to the families of the deceased employee as well as colleagues affected by what they described as tragic loss.
Monday’s incident has triggered concerns and questions about safety issues at the plant, though management said the safety of its employees and the facility are of paramount importance.
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