Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs has saluted the bravery of one of its officials who was injured at the weekend when a marquee collapsed during a funeral in Bulwer.
Bushy Sekhu, a communications officer based at the department's head office in Pretoria, was at the funeral of seven schoolchildren in Bulwer, KwaZulu-Natal, when the incident took place.
According to the department, the marquee collapsed at the end of the funeral service when approximately six people, including two children, remained in the marquee for refreshments.
"When Bushy Sekhu, who was just outside the marquee realised that the marquee was about to collapse on the two little children, he quickly moved to shield them from the force of the collapse of the marquee. Having saved the two children from injury, unfortunately, the main pole of the marquee collapsed on his person thus leading him to lose consciousness," it added.
Sekhu was rushed to the local clinic and then transferred to the Pietermaritzburg hospital before being airlifted to the Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban where he was admitted to the ICU section.
"The Department of Home Affairs salutes Bushy Sekhu for putting his life at a great risk to save the lives of others. This selfless act constitute acts of bravery, courage and valour and express the hope that, his will be emulated by countless others around the country," it added.
The department wished him a speedy recovery.
