Tragedy struck Timber X on Thursday, 5 November, when employee Paulus "Wise" David was killed after a load of wooden planks allegedly fell on him. 

The fatal industrial accident at the Northern Industrial area was confirmed by the Namibian Revolutionary Transport and Manufacturing Union (NARETU).

NARETU Commander-in-Chief Petersen Kambinda told NBC News that the company allegedly dismissed a forklift driver after he raised concerns about workplace safety, leaving workers to manually carry heavy planks meant to be transported by forklifts.

Petersen questioned the company's safety practices and whether workers were adequately protected and called on lawmakers to intervene.

"It's a very, very unfortunate situation, which the old narrative organisation, we sympathise with the family during this difficult time that a life had been lost of somebody. But the company still continues operating. Such type of employers, we really call upon our lawmakers that such type of employers who don't like to respect the laws of this country, who don't respect the employees' rights, and then they end up having an incident like this."

These are photos provided by close sources on how employees' working conditions

The company was closed today. A person who answered the telephone number displayed on the gate said the company needed time to say goodbye to its employee.

Although Timber X has not officially commented on the incident or the safety allegations, the company reportedly shared a condolence message on its internal work group and its Facebook page.