Nine people, including a nine months old baby have been crushed to death, while six others are nursing serious injuries during a stampede.
Over 5, 000 people converged at Great Lakes Products (GLP) after word went round that the proprietor Sahran Salim was in town to employ casuals workers.Northern Province Permanent Secretary Emmanuel Mwamba said the stampede happened after the crowd grew tired of waiting for the gates to Great Lakes Products to be opened after waiting from around 04:00 hours in the morning.
“At 07:30 hours, the crowd became impatient and overpowered the guard and stormed into the premises. It was during the ensuing stampede that the death of the 11 people occurred,” he said.Mwamba said Salim who is Kitwe based often visits Mpulungu where he engages part-time workers.
Mr.Mwamba said Mpulungu District medical officer, Mukuka Sampa confirmed that eight people were taken to the hospital dead. He said 38 victims were treated and discharged while six are still admitted because they are in a critical condition.Mpulungu District Hospital is planning to evacuate patients to Mbala General Hospital.
Mwamba has directed Mpulungu District administrative officer Monday Chapewa and Mbala District Commissioner Best Kabulembe to collaborate all efforts from Northern province in order to handle the crisis effectively.He has also directed the deputy Police Commissioner Lackson Sakala to
also rush to Mpulungu and coordinate the security matters.Mwamba said health authorities were overwhelmed in Mpulungu and might require some corpses to be transferred to Mbala.“I have also directed Provincial medical officer, Jelita Chinyonga to rush to Mpulungu and coordinate medical matters and ensures that she
assembled a medical team from Kasama, Mbala and Mpulungu to deal with the situation,” Mr Mwamba said.
Those who died in the stampede are Elizebeth Nakazwe of Musende village, Doris Nalungwe Mupata village, Purity Chansa 13 of Muzabwera village and Ruth Nanyangwe 40 of Mupata village all female, seven
months old baby Kapembwa Mwimanzi, Lizzie Mwimanzi 37 all of Mupata village, Mary Namwinga 56 of Makola village and Luse Ngaona of Muzabwera village.
5,000 people? Sounds exegerated to me.
Am made to wonder as well, can mpulungu have such numbers of unemployed pipo?only god knows.
is it 9 or 11 people that died? LT, awe this amateur reporting is becoming a habit
I can’t believe this is happening a donor country like Zambia it is supposed to happen in poor countries like Malawi where i come from.What happened to the jobs you silly Zambians were promised within 90 days?My condolences to the deceased.I hope your president will set up another tribunal to investigate the real cause of those deaths my fellow Malawian judges are eagerly waiting for possible appointments.They can can believe that one can lead a life of luxury in Africa where just wake up eat ,drink,read the post shinda pepa,and sight seeing in 4X4 plus security and well paid in US dollars.Am really enjoying myself in your country thanks to your dull president used by M’membe and Ncthito.
This is very very very very sad. For jobs! Can you imagine then how much desparation is there everywhere throughout the country! If people living by a massive lake can ba that desparate, what more those who live in districts that are just surrounded by bush? You know, it is scenes like these that make me so angry. And yet when the politicians come back in 2016, they will go back to the same desparate person and LIE AGAIN about jobs and money in your pocket. This makes me very annoyed…
Very sad development losing those lives!!! This is a sign of poverty people struggling to find something to do to earn a living! Can we do something to improve the welfare of our poor people especially in the rural places. May the souls of the departed rest in eternal peace.
*Tears*
It is really sad for this development, losing poor people in such circumstance! This is a sign of poverty where people can rush for anything as long as there is a sign of an income. Can we do something to improve the living conditions of our people in rural areas. May the souls of the departed rest in eternal peace.
PF you promised real jobs, now look at our people fighting for casual work. Then back here in Lusaka you are busy protecting criminals who have the dutch courage to insult any one asking them to pay back a loan (public funds). Sad for the families who have lost their loved ones. As for Mwamba you should been having meetings in your chambers about how to develop the area in N/Province and reducing poverty and not just giving directives as part of reactive nature as per most managers with poor managerial skills to plan and forecast ahead. May the good Lord our God be with the families in these hard and trying moments.
more sacrifice in your pockets.poor kolwestans come to southern province maybe we can employee you in the maize fields but i hope you dont steal the maize
You heartless Chikala
Too sad to die in such a terrible way. Thats y we should be prepared spiritually all the time as time is nt known whn death can strike us. if one dies a sinner wether in an accident or sickness judgment waits for you.
Poor baby! I feel so sorry for the baby who has died together with the mother. MHSRIEP
Foolish *****s – they can accept employment from foreigners but in the same breath they choose to insult the India-Zambia model
Too sad a development. Honorable MCS, that is a very big challenge in your reign. May their souls rest in peace.
A tip of iceberge of what problems PF is facing. This requires proper leadership which should create jobs for the zambians who are ready to work.
Condolences to the families of the deceased. This happening demonstrates how bad the situation is in our communities esp the rural areas. Govt needs to come up with proper strategies for employment creation in order to alleviate poverty.
Surely, there are a lot of Zambians who have money that they can invest in some business ventures and help these poor people.Can you imagine this Salimu of Kitwe providing simple employment for people of Mpulungu when there are big names of politicians who hail from that area that can assist in some form of jobs.These politicans must invest the money they accumulate whilst in office to invest in some business ventures to help their communities they come from.
At a moment we dont have leadership that can tackle un employment , they are all just putting more hunger in our stomachs and more problems in our homes no more money in peoples pockets PF one term is enough even if they rule 5 years they are just full of talk and no action !
Permanent secretary believes deligating haphazardly will be effective in saving lives. Mwamba is supposed to be on the spot and summon experts to handle the happenings with hands-on and spot check certifications screenings to determine priorities of type of action needed most with minimun time period. Mere rhetoricals will resurt in situations of ‘due to lack of ABC more lives were lost’. In future lets have ambulance services at hand and so on. This is shameful to a govt that promised people with employment and end up dying in stampedes needlessly. PF govt has to fufil its promises of unemployment to young people. Further deception to Zambians wont work. Scapegoats of corruption and MMD is irrelevant, PF is in govt, stampedes of such nature are not caused by MMD but PF promises of jobs
Very sad reading, this is an indication of how unprepared we are for such crises. This also explains the level of underdevelopment. It is situations of this nature that highlights how undeveloped we are. Only Lusaka has some form of development the rest of the country side has nothing to write home about. Fourty- eight years after independence we cannot have space for less than twenty corpses. Even though one life lost is one too many. There has been no district hospital in Mpulungu since independence, the MMD govt started constructing one but we are not sure of the capacity. Shame on you politicians shame, countless commissions only to defend your cronnies and no money to build decent structures for poor souls who vote for you. May the souls of those who lost their lives rest in peace.
*sad! sad! sad!*
Iwe cinamba 3 ule icindika,you must no when to joke,no one can be happy to loose all those life.not ifyabupuba all the time.if you have nothing to contribute you better just go and drink kachasu and let intellectuals make contributions.my condolences to those who have lost the beloved ones
Sata should attend these funerals. Lets see what mwamba is made off… families needs compensation.
Poor reportn indeed 1st paragraph say 9people died en da later 11people died..plz dnt rush wen reportn such matters ba lsk times, ifintu nipanono.
Who would in there right mind carry a 9 months old baby while seeking employment ?? Worst still the nature of employment is as a casual worker of which it is a well known fact that recruitment of casuals attracts multitudes of job seekers and stampedes are bound to happen.. May the innocent baby rest in peace..Hope more lives wont be lost as a result of job seeking..