Cape Town’s whale carcass removal continues
The City of Cape Town on Thursday said it, along with relevant agencies, was still in the process of removing a humpback whale carcass which had caused the closure of Strand beach.
The task under way at time of writing was stabilising the flatbed truck which would be used to transport the carcass to the Vissershok landfill site.
The City was alerted to the whale carcass on Tuesday evening and work to remove it from the beach began on Wednesday. The beach has been closed to bathers since Wednesday.
Although the carcass was successfully removed from the beach on Wednesday evening, stabilising the “25 tonne carcass on the back of the flatbed truck” proved challenging.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Environmental and Spatial Planning Johan van der Merwe explained: “City Solid Waste teams were back on site early this morning to stabilise the vehicle and carcass.”
“Once they are certain that the excess load is safe for transportation and poses no additional risk to road users, they will travel to the landfill site,” he said.
Until then, and only once the City deemed the area safe – including the water as blood and oil remained – Beach Road at the site of the operation would remain closed.
Photo: Twitter