Livingstone : workers buried alive, die on the spot

TWO people have died while one has been critically injured in Livingstone after a four metre deep trench they were digging caved in and buried them.
The two were working for a Chinese company, CICO construction in Livingstone. They died on the spot while another sustained injuries.
Livingstone Police commanding officer, Joseph Chitambo said the accident occurred May 14th  around 09:00 hours near Batoka roundabout.
The deceased were identified as Chishimba Mukuka aged 30 and Morris Namambo who was 28-years-old. The injured person, Obvious Mukoya, 25, was admitted to Livingstone General Hospital.
Mr Chitambo said the Chinese company was contracted by the Southern Water and Sewerage Company (SWASCO) to dig trenches for the laying of new pipes on the Airport Road.
“I can confirm that we received a report at about 09:00 hours that three people while working on a water project had been buried in a trench when the soil collapsed on them and the trench is about four metres deep,” he said.
He said by the time the fire brigade and the police were retrieving the three, the two had already died while Mr Mukoya sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital.
He said it was unfortunate that life was lost in such a manner and advised SWASCO and the Chinese company to apply safety measures when conducting such works.
An employee of the same company who opted for anonymity blamed the accident on the employers, who allegedly did not heed advice when the workers expressed concern over inadequate safety measures.
An eyewitness said some workers had recently been asked to leave for refusing to get into the trench that had posed a threat to life.
But SWASCO corporate affairs manager Liversage  Mulinda explained that at the moment the project was still under the contractor and that he could not give details over the matter.