A dockworker is recovering in hospital after falling five metres into the cargo hold of a ship moored in Durban harbour early on Thursday morning.

He was hit by a large pipe, which swung around while a crane was hoisting it out of the hold, police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said. He sustained serious injuries.

Police search and rescue unit officers and paramedics used the ship’s crane to hoist the man out of the hold and on to the quay.

Source: News24 wire