Grief overcomes communityGas explosion victims laid to rest Ten family members who died in a gas explosion near Dordabis were buried on the farm at the weekend. OGONE TLHAGEEmotions ran high at a farm outside Dordabis this past weekend when a fleet of hearses snaked through the dusty settlement carrying the remains of ten people who died as a result of a gas explosion last month.
The explosion on 14 October at Farm /Garib about 25km from Dordabis claimed the lives of nine children and one adult and injured five more while they were watching television at a family house on the farm.
The incident occurred when a gas cylinder inside the house exploded and burnt down the house.
It is suspected that gas may have been leaking and was ignited by a fire made outside the house.
One of the victims, 36-year-old Veronika Plaatjies, paid the ultimate price, one willing to sacrifice life and limb to help, while the other, Bradley Jagger, was once touted to become a sporting hero by his peers.
A community member who asked to remain anonymous said the incident shocked the entire community. “The school environment has been quiet with so many questions. After many counselling sessions we have realised the questions we have are with the Almighty Father. We have lost precious angels, especially Bradley Jagger, our sportsman.”
Jagger was described as an all-round athlete and was said to excel particularly in the sprinting and long-jump disciplines.
Plaatjies’s heroics ended in misery when she chose to help. Instead, she was covered in gas and later succumbed to her injuries. Her partner, Henock Kock could still be seen wearing a bandage on his left hand, a stark reminder of the burns he suffered when he carried the leaking gas cylinder away.
Those who were buried on Saturday were Veronica Plaatjies, Nicolene Geibes, Anna Geibes, Henricho Plaatjies, Borris Geibeb, Annazet Geibes, Aliando !Nau /Gawaseb, Annalien Geibes and Bradley Jagger.
The deputy bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, Paul Kisting, who led the service of the ten victims, could not contain his shock.
“We said this sounded like a joke. Sickness is not good, murder is not good, but what more if people die in this fashion,” he asked the mourners.
Deacon Hinda, who has been doing evangelical work in the Dordabis community told the Namibian Sun in passing, “Sharing was the purpose of this community. This is what we can learn as a country.”
Working closely in the community, he noted how often the Farm Garib victims were accustomed to sharing the little they had and said that the victims were a close-knit family.
“These victims shared everything they had with one another,” he said.
Khomas Governor Laura McLeod Katjirua also attended the burial and offered words of comfort.
“Your suffering is beyond imagination and we realise the trauma that this incident has caused your family,” she said.
The Geibeb couple whose four children were buried over the weekend are still recovering in hospital and have not yet been informed of the death of their children, according to McLeod-Katjirua.