Man dies after latrine collapses burying him




BY EMMA MUGECHI

Villagers have retrieved the body of a middle-aged man who was buried alive when the latrine he was digging at Gichugu Primary school in Embu County caved in and collapsed on him.

The exercise took more than 24 hours by villagers using spades and later using an excavator from SS Meta Contractor excavator, which was working on a nearby road.

The victim, James Kinyua, was working together with his brother Paul Sephane and they had reached 34ft when the accident happened on Tuesday.

Sephane says he worked his shift inside the hole from 7.30am until 12.30pm when they took a break for lunch.

“In the afternoon Kinyua was digging and we had reached the day’s target when the hole just collapsed. I screamed to alert the people,” he said adding that they had started work on Tuesday last week.

He said they had been working together since year 2000 and could dig a 30ft toilet in just four days, but even with their experience they had not seen signs of collapse.

They had been contracted to dig the latrine, which is financed National Government Constituency Development Fund.

Gaturi North location chief Nicasio Nyaga said the 3pm incident attracted tens of resident who used spades and their hands to dig soil to no avail.

Embu North OCPD Godfrey Kere said they had deployed officers to assist in rescue efforts.

He said they could not rule out a landslide as the cause especially since rains had been pounding the area recently.

Runyenjes MP Eric Muchangi who visited the scene urged residents to adopt a better strategy in constructing toilets as the older methods were prove to caving in especially during rainy seasons.


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