The partially decomposed body of a 25-year-old man has been recovered from a space between the ceiling and the metal roof tiles of a house in Moeketsane Street, Kwa-Thema, Springs.
The City of Ekurhuleni’s Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) said its technical rescue teams from the Brakpan and Kwa-Thema fire stations worked together to retrieve the body on Friday.
According to DEMS spokesperson William Ntladi, emergency crews were called out after paramedics approached the Brakpan fire station for assistance.
While the Brakpan team was responding, the Kwa-Thema rescue team was also mobilised.
“On arrival, neighbours were engaged and apparently they were alerted by a smell and needed official intervention,” Ntladi said.
He said the occupant of the house told the emergency teams that he was unaware of the situation.
Rescue personnel followed the smell and discovered the body wedged between the ceiling and the metal roof tiles.
The teams used a specialised stretcher and ropes to lower the body to the ground.
The man is alleged to have been electrocuted, as side-cutting pliers and a section of severed electrical cable were reportedly found next to him.
Paramedics declared the man dead, and the scene was handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Forensic Pathology Services were called to remove the body and transport it to a mortuary in Springs.
The circumstances surrounding the man’s death have not yet been confirmed.
