Eight Injured In Taxi Accident

Eight passengers were injured when the taxi they were travelling in overturned.

According to ER24 Media Liaison, Derrick Banks, the accident occurred on the M13 West bound, just after the Hillcrest off ramp. "One of the passengers sustained serious injuries and had to have partial amputation to her fingers and spinal injuries. She was stabilised at the scene and taken to the R K Khan Hospital," he said. It is believed that the taxi had a tyre blow out which led to the driver losing control and then crashing into an Armco barrier. The taxi then rolled several times before coming to a halt. Pictured: ER24 paramedics attending to those injured in a taxi accident on the M13.

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Article taken from the issue: 8 Jan 2008

New Surfing Contest Calendar Released

Surfing South Africa s newly released surfing contest calendar for 2008 promises a very busy year for KwaZulu Natal's surfers.

There are many competitions available to surfers of all ages. First on the list is the junior surfing trials held by Chemspec Durban Surfing, which will take place in the last weekend of January.

These trials determine which surfers will make up the Chemspec Durban Surfing Team to compete in the South African Surfing Champs, which will be held in Margate in September.

The Billabong Girls competition will be held in Cape Town in the first weekend of February, and this is aimed at novice to advanced girl surfers. For the locals not wanting to travel, there will be another Billabong Girls Surfing contest in Scottburgh on 16 and 17 February. This will be followed by the first of five Billabong Boys Junior contests to be held at St Mikes from 21 to 24 February.

For the older advanced surfers Oakley are putting on a competition in Durban from 21 to 23 March, and the following weekend there will be the O'Neill competition on at Scottburgh. From 3 to 6 April will be the Lizzard Nando's Pro, followed by the Quiksilver Pro, and then the Durban Billabong...

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Article taken from the issue: 8 Jan 2008

Investigation Launched Into Harbour Pollution

An inspection of the Wilson's Wharf, Grunter Gully, Dry dock and the storm water canal entry to the Durban Harbour as a follow up to the pollution incident has revealed no further evidence of fish kill or dead and decaying marine fauna. The inspection team deployed in response to the fish kill incident has continued its work and the water quality appeared visibly improved since the weekend.

Ongoing assessment of the dissolved oxygen levels in the harbour water quality has improved. The measurement of oxygen levels on the greater water body of the harbour, including Wilson's Wharf, the sand banks and harbour mouth have consistently improved over the period of the intensive measurements. The measurements of oxygen levels in water and other water quality parameters were undertaken on 26, 28, 30 December 2007 and 2 January 2008. The measurements were undertaken by City commissioned estuarine scientists Nicolette Demetriades and Professor Ticky Forbes.

The measurements will now continue to be undertaken on a weekly basis until such time the situation is normalised. The oxygen levels in the harbour mouth, in the intake to the uShaka Marine world are normal.What is still of concern is the unstable situation in the harbour water quality spanning the section from the Bluff Yacht Club down to the turning circle near the Dry dock. The measurements show cyclical levels of dissolved oxygen.

During the day, the photosynthesis taking place is causing oxygen levels to be elevated. This is due to algal photosynthesis related to the high organic nutrient load imposed on the system. At night, when there is no sunlight, the algal blooms switch to respiration mode, whereby oxygen will be consumed leading to a reduction in the dissolved oxygen levels. Demetriades advised that the situation would return to its natural state over time. Further, this head waters/estuarine section of the harbour does not mix intermittently with the greater harbor water body, despite the daily tidal exchanges.

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Article taken from the issue: 8th Jan 2008