Four Farmworkers Die After Drinking ‘Expired Alcohol’ On Stellenbosch Wine Farm

06 Aug 2024 by Heinrich in South Africa

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[imagesource:wikicommons]

Four workers have died after reportedly drinking ‘expired alcohol’ from a 25-litre bucket on the Joubert Family Wine in Stellenbosch.

The four – Juanita Hull, 43, Megan Heynes, 16, Wilhemina Snyder, 63, and her boyfriend Elton Greene, 41 – and three others were together on 26 July and are believed to have drunk from about 1.5 litres of the drink (said to be gin) mixed with a cool drink.

They had previously been cautioned against drinking the concoction, allegedly by someone on the farm who said that if they drank it again, they would go blind and die.

Tragically, this is exactly what happened.

“On Friday and Saturday, they had no problems. On Sunday they first complained about their eyesight and then they said they were nauseous and throwing up.”

According to one of the worker’s sisters, they thought she was having a stroke because she had slurred speech and was incoherent.

“And when the others started speaking like that, we knew something was wrong.”

“Wilhemina’s boyfriend, Elton, was fine so he left them at the hospital and then went to his sister’s house. He died the following day.”

“It’s traumatic because we thought they were going to survive.”

“We thought they ate something but we are now convinced that they were poisoned by what they all drank.”

A farm manager at the Joubert Family Winery did not want to comment on the incident as police were still investigating.

Police spokesperson, Wesley Twigg, said Stellenbosch detectives registered inquest cases for investigation.

“A 63-year-old female was admitted to hospital where she was declared deceased upon arrival on Saturday, July 27, 2024.”

“A 41-year-old male was declared deceased on July 28, while two females aged 16 and 43 died at hospital in Parow on July 31. Two other victims were discharged from hospital and another victim did not need medical assistance.”

The Daily Voice reports that Jestine Alckers, 29, is grateful that her little sister and Monecia Alckers, 18, survived to tell the tale.

Jestine explains: “They took the gin from Joubert Family Wine Farm in Koelenhof that Friday morning. Apparently there was a 25-litre bucket and they only got 1.5 litres of dop.

“It was a very strong drink which they chased with a cooldrink. It looked like water. I understand that it was expired, but I don’t know if they knew that it was.”

She added that the first time, a month ago, Elton took a 25-litre bucket with the alcohol and they drank it and nothing happened.

Twigg mentioned that post-mortems will be conducted to determine the causes of death, and confirmed that the circumstances surrounding the incident are the subject of an investigation by the South African Police Service.

[source:iol]

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