Bereng Mpaki
LESOTHO Flour Mills (LFM) was recently forced to temporarily shut down its animal feed mill after a fatal accident that claimed the life of one of the company’s staff.
The accident happened on the evening of 31 October 2019.
The deceased employee was found inside one of the mill’s chop buffer bins in the animal feed section with serious injuries.
A statement from the company said the employee was successfully removed from the bin with the assistance of the police but unfortunately, he later died from the injuries.
“Lesotho Flour Mills hereby informs all customers and the nation about an incident in which one of its employees was found inside a chop buffer bin located at the animal feed mill, and terribly injured on the night of 31 October 2019,” LFM said in the statement.
“The police played a major role in ensuring that the employee got rescue and got him immediate medical care. We are eternally grateful for their prompt and diligent efforts. We are saddened however, to report that the employee lost his life a few days later.”
The company has allayed fears of possible contamination of its product arising from the accident.
“We assure our customers and the nation that LFM has dealt with this issue with due diligence to assert that our product is kept to its normal high-quality hygiene standards.
“Our management team further apologises for any delays in production and delivery of feed products as the affected area had to be temporarily closed…
“Our management team truly regrets this tragic incident and sends heartfelt condolences to the family (of the deceased) and employees.”
LFM general manager Charles Williams said he was unable to comment on the incident as he was out of the country.
For his part, the LFM marketing officer Bofihla ‘Neko said it was still unclear how the employee got into the chop buffer bin.
He however, said the company has health and safety programmes in place to sensitise workers about possible injuries and health hazards that may occur in their line of duty.
“The accident has led to the temporary shutdown of operations in the animal feed mill and therefore, this means our production operations were affected.”
Production has since resumed this week.
Founded in 1976, LFM is a state enterprise which manufactures and distributes fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in the milling and sugar packaging areas.
The company operates in four product categories namely maize milling, flour milling, feed milling and sugar packaging.
