Two people have died after being buried alive in Nakonde district in Muchinga province.
Both Muchinga province Police Commissioner Remmy Kajoba and Nakonde District Commissioner James Singoyi have confirmed the accident in separate interviews with the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Chinsali today.
Mr Kajoba said the accident happened this morning around 08:30 hours at Chambeshi Main Water Supply plant when a trench for water pipes which the two were digging together with others collapsed and buried them.
Mr Kajoba said the two were pronounced dead on arrival at Nakonde health centre after being rescued 40 minutes later while two others have been resuscitated and they are recovering at the health centre.
Mr Kajoba has identified the deceased as Boniface Nsama, 29, and Boyd Mulenga, 24.
And Mr Singoyi said a rescue team is currently searching for more people because it has not yet been established as to how many people were working from the portion which has collapsed.
Elsewhere, over 75 pupils from Kenneth Kaunda Secondary School in Chinsali escaped unhurt in the early hours of today after a dormitory in which they were sleeping caught fire.
Kenneth Kaunda Secondary School Head Teacher Blackson Silwenga confirmed the incident in an interview with ZANIS in Chinsali today.
Mr Silwenga said the dormitory involved belongs to the girls adding that the building, which is one of the old structures built under the World Bank project in 1975 caught fire due to an electrical fault.
Mr Silwenga said the building caught fire around 01:00 hours adding that all the girls were quickly evacuated to safety and they are now squatting in Grade 11 class rooms.
The school head teacher has since appealed to the government and well- wishers to help in the rehabilitation of the structures at the school which he said are dilapidated.
He said school urgently needs to be rehabilitated saying from 1975 when the school was built, it has not under gone any serious rehabilitation hence accidents like the fire experienced in the dormitory in the early hours of today.
ZANIS
sad,!!!
Someone has been negligent in their duties. If the depth of the trench creates instability to the soil, its the duty of the site engineer to have props to shore up the walls of the trenches constructed. When people try to practice false economies by not spending on timber or any form of prop to stabilize the walls inevitably ends expensive unless the geology of the site is known to be stable. Where was health and safety services? These deaths shouldn’t have happened. MTSRIP
Sad indeed, unfortunately those are the jobs we have available. And no life insurance to families.
sad about the deaths. problem is that we stil use pick and shovel in this day and age. sue the water company.
very sad indeed, composert their families without delay. M.T.S.R.I.E.P
OOOOO,,,,,sh!! so sad.Compasete them so quick.
Hon its true we are likely to see substandard road by China Geo because they wont get the whole chunk of money. road pave has bleached the contract because they have failed to honor their promise. therefore they dont deserve a cut from that contract.