An electrical contractor was killed and two colleagues seriously burnt when a transformer exploded and caught fire during an inspection at a Shoprite distribution warehouse in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The Shoprite Group said the explosion happened at its Cilmor Distribution Centre in Brackenfell.

“An electrical contractor tragically lost his life this morning in an explosion while inspecting an electrical transformer…  Two other contractors suffered serious burn injuries and were rushed to hospital. A further four people are being treated for smoke inhalation‚” the group said in response to media enquiries.

“The fire that broke out as a result of the explosion was extinguished within an hour and was contained in a small area of the Returns Centre. A full investigation is under way to determine the cause of the explosion and extent of the damage. At this stage it seems that operations will not be affected for a prolonged period of time.”

The Shoprite Group expressed its sincere condolences to the families and colleagues of the deceased and injured. Trauma counselling was being provided to those who witnessed the accident‚ it said.

Cape Town Fire and Rescue spokesman Theo Layne said earlier: “The City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to Cilmor Street in Brackenfell (to) a Shoprite warehouse where we had a transformer room that was alight.

“As a result of the fire one adult male had sustained fatal burn wounds and one adult male sustained serious injuries and was transported by ambulance to hospital.”

Private ambulance service Resq Medix said in a Facebook post that patients were treated for smoke inhalation.

“Cape Town fire and rescue services managed to contain the fire within seconds while medical staff and attended to the injured‚ thank you ER24‚ Cape Town Fire and Rescue‚ SJC security‚ Titanium security and Metro Rescue for their assistance on scene.”

The DA and NFP staged a walkout from the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg in protest against the presence of former president Jacob Zuma at the provincial department of agriculture and rural development budget vote on Tuesday.

Zuma was invited by agriculture and rural development MEC Themba Mthembu as his special guest‚ but the move backfired when the two opposition parties said they could not tolerate the former president’s presence in the legislature.

The DA and NFP accused of Zuma of being part of the looting of the country’s economy‚ saying they could not share the same house as him as he was part of state capture with the Gupta family.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu’s attempt to intervene by explaining that Zuma was just a guest and not scheduled to speak fell on deaf ears.

Of the opposition‚ only the IFP rem

TimesLIVE has reliably learnt that Mthembu was warned by his officials against inviting Zuma as his special guest but he would have none of it.

DA provincial spokesman on agriculture and rural development‚ Sizwe Mchunu‚ posted on his Facebook page shortly after the walkout: “We‚ @DA_KZN in the KZN Legislature have staged a walkout in protest of Jacob Zuma’s presence in the chamber. Kwashuba!!! AKONAKELE”

He later told TimesLIVE that they were taken by surprise when the MEC opened his presentation by acknowledging Zuma’s presence in the chamber and not in the gallery.

“He was ushered into the legislature and allowed to sit where usually the HOD [head of department] or His Majesty [Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini] would sit. We protested primarily on the basis that the country is at this stage of a weak economy because of him and the challenges that face our government in general are as a result of his leadership in the country.

“So therefore we couldn’t stand or tolerate his presence in the house hence we opted to walk out. But fundamentally we are saying the state of our country is because of him‚” said Mchunu.

NFP chairman in KZN‚ Vikizitha Mlotshwa‚ said they decided to walk out because the former president is not “an honourable member of the house” but was seated where only honourable members are allowed.

ained for the budget vote.

Five men in police uniform raided the government poached abalone store in Cape Town early on Tuesday.

Police said the men‚ driving a double-cab bakkie‚ robbed security guards of their guns and bulletproof vests at the Department of Agriculture‚ Forestry and Fisheries store at 3am.

“The suspects also took an undisclosed quantity of abalone and fled the scene. Fortunately no one was injured during the incident‚” said police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut.

A source at the Marine and Coastal Management branch of the Department of Environmental Affairs said the robbers loaded the abalone into three bakkies at the Paarden Eiland store before making their getaway.