Baby’s body found in trash

PHOTO: Driver Hermanus Manzi in front of the truck compactor from which the baby’s body was retrieved.

Baby’s body found in trash

THE half-crushed body of a baby was retrieved from a trash compactor at Jeffreys Bay this morning.

Municipal workers made the gruesome discovery just after 10am when they started crushing rubbish they had collected from bins in Lungile Tabalaza Street, Tokyo Sexwale.

Kouga Municipal Manager, Dr Eddie Rankwana, said the first warning the workers received was when they saw the head of the baby emerging from the compactor.

They immediately stopped the compactor and called in the police.

Residents gathered around the cordoned-off area and watched in horror as the compactor was switched on again so that the little body, which was stuck between the rollers, could be retrieved.

Trash compactor driver and father of three, Hermanus Manzi, said that during his 29 years of trash collection at Jeffreys Bay he had seen many baby bodies retrieved from black bags and bins.

“It’s becoming a more and more regular occurrence, but the horror of the discovery never lessens. This is probably the third baby body we’ve found in the trash in this area this year.”

The Municipal Manager said the municipality would be calling a meeting with the police and the Departments of Health and Social Development to develop a programme of action to address this escalating social problem.