Mother, daughter buried alive in trench

A mother and her 19 year old daughter of Kitwe’s Garnetone area have died after being buried alive in a trench while digging stones.

Prisca Kaluba, 34, of house number 2042, Racecourse area was buried alive together with her daughter Ireen Kaluba.

Their bodies have been retrieved and taken to Kitwe Central Hospital (KCH) mortuary.

A combined team of fire brigade and police officers that rushed to the scene had a tough time to retrieve the body of Ms Kaluba which was still trapped underneath the earth while that of her daughter was quickly exhumed by a passer-by.

The officers who started the operation around 11:00 hours only managed to retrieve Mrs Kaluba‘s body around 14:00hours amidst wails from onlookers and close family friends.

A check by ZANIS found Kitwe District Police Commanding Officer Lizzie Machina and senior officers from Kitwe City Council at the scene waiting for the body to be retrieved.

Council Public Relations Manager Dorothy Sampa said the local authority is deeply saddened by the death of the two women and appealed to the residents of Racecourse to refrain from digging stones in trenches.

Kitwe City Council has since buried the trenches to prevent further loss of lives.