Staff Reporter
All inmates at a Free State correctional facility were recently evacuated after a roof at the prison was blown off following a heavy storm.
Department of Correctional Services (DCS) Grootvlei Management Area spokesperson Kgopolelo Jabanyane says the facility, the Ladybrand Correctional Centre, was immediately closed and all inmates were moved to Wepener Correctional Centre.
The incident happened on January 20.
“The centre was housing a total of 68 sentenced offenders who had to be evacuated to ensure their safety,” said Jabanyane in a statement released on Monday morning.
He said the Wepener Correctional Centre, which has an approved bed space of 147 only, had 67 offenders at the time, hence it was identified to temporarily house the 68 from Ladybrand.
No injuries were reported following the heavy storm.
“With the help of the South African Police Service, these offenders were transferred to Wepener immediately after this . . . incident,” Jabanyane added.
And in line with the COVID-19 health protocols, the inmates were accommodated in a separate part of the Wepener facility to avoid congestion and the possibility of spreading the disease.
“The DCS healthcare professionals ensured that all non-pharmaceutical measures to contain the spread of the virus were followed . . . all arriving offenders were separated from the rest of the prison population,” said the spokesperson.
“They were all screened and sanitised prior to their journey and on arrival at the centre by health workers.”
A team of officials which includes technical experts from the DCS has been dispatched to Ladybrand to assess the extent of the damage.
Last week, the Free State Department of Education said it was assessing damage caused by the same storm to Sehlabeng Secondary School in the same town.
It said the administration block at the school had its roof blown off and was in a race to have it repaired before schools reopened in February.