One dead, another seriously injured after walls of man-hole collapse in Kakamega

Kakamega, Kenya: A middle aged man was buried alive while his co-worker was pulled out of a manhole unconscious after walls caved in Thursday morning in Kakamega.

The two were among other casual workers digging a sewer along Kakamega-Kisumu road when the tragedy occurred.

Police, residents and medics arrived at the scene to rescue the two.

They managed to rescue one, whom they rushed to Kakamega County General hospital and later retrieved the body of the deceased that was wholly covered.

Kennedy Otieno, one of the workers who witnessed the incident, said the victims were finalising on the previous day’s work, when they were buried by soil.

Kakamega Central AP commander Francis Kooli confirmed the incident and said the deceased was buried inside the manhole after the walls collapsed.

“We managed to save one and my appeal to public is to be careful during the rainy seasons because the soils are loose and prone to landslides. We also urge the public that although we need their help, they should avoid milling around disaster scenes to avoid spontaneous causalities,” said Kooli.

The body of the deceased has been moved to the Kakamega County Hospital Mortuary for a postmortem.