Central SA
NW farmer stable after fighting #fire, falling from bakkie─── 11:57 Mon, 26 Oct 2020
A young farmer from the Schweizer-Reneke area in North West was in a stable condition this weekend after he suffered serious burns on Wednesday when he fell from his father-in-law's bakkie during a firefighting effort.
According to Sunday newspaper Rapport, Wimpie Koenig, 36, and his father-in-law Cornie van den Heever, 66, were helping to put out veld fires that had been raging in the area all week when the fire suddenly got out of hand due to wind and started burning right around their bakkie.
Koenig is the second farmer injured while trying to battle veld fires in the country.
Several fires
According to TimesLIVE, another farmer who helped battle fires in Hertzogville in the Free State was fighting for his life in the Life Rosepark Hospital in Bloemfontein.
According to Rapport, apart from the Hertzogville fire, so far there is little evidence of intentional or politically motivated arson, as claimed in various fake messages doing the rounds on social media.
News24/ Compiled by Riaan Grobler
