A pepper spray that was accidentally dropped by a customer at the upmarket Heidelberg Mall near Ratanda in Gauteng left shoppers scurrying for cover and running into shops after inhaling it on Sunday afternoon.
The mall, which is situated just along the N3 Highway to Durban is used by both locals and travellers wishing to find refreshments.
The usually relaxed mood that prevails the facility changed suddenly when shoppers started to suffocate and choke, coughing and becoming dizzy.
Fearing for their lives they ran into shops where doors were summarily closed before security at the mall cleared the area.
Some of the shoppers initially thought the substance they inhaled was teargas, but this was refuted by the mall management in their comment later.
Sello Thabethe, a mall customer, said he had chosen to go stock up on school necessities for his children on Sunday because of the facility is less packed on the day.
However, he added, once inside the mall he saw some shoppers in front of him start to cough and choke.
“I was still wondering what the problem could be when I also started coughing, my throat was burning and when I saw people run in different directions, I also threw myself into a nearby shop not sure of what was going on,” he said.
Another shopper, Moseletsane Machitje (22), said she was lucky to stay behind in the car when her mother, Salaminah, went into the mall to buy a cake for her birthday.
“I saw people coming out running from the mall, they were coughing profusely but could not tell what the problem could have been, it was such a relief to see my mother come out of the facility, she also inhaled the substance and was coughing when coming out, luckily the coughing stopped and we managed to get out of there in one piece,” she added.
Approached for comment, Heidelberg Mall communications officer Robyn Gedrych of Capland, a company handling media enquiries for the mall, confirmed the incident.
He said a customer accidentally dropped the pepper spray that he had just purchased from one of the shops and its canister got opened, releasing the harzadous contents.
“The incident caused panic among customers as they did not know what was causing them to choke, through our CCTV we established that a pepper spray was accidentally dropped by a customer and our security personnel quickly attended to the situation and removed it,” he said.
He added the mall management regrets that the incident negatively affected its patrons.
“We would like to assure the public of our continued endeavours to ensure their safety, which remains paramount and is key to fostering a positive customer experience for our shoppers,” he said.
He added the mall management is working to ensure that similar incidents do not happen in the future.
