Man buried alive after quarry collapses on him in Murang’a

A village in Murang’a is mourning the death of one of their own after the walls of a quarry collapsed on him on Monday while he was in the process of crashing stones.

The 55-year-old, identified only as Mugo, met with his death after huge rocks and sand fell on him at the quarry in Kabugi village, burying him alive.

The hillside has quarries that have been mined for many years and the quarry in question is believed to have collapsed due to the heavy rainfall that has been pounding the area recently.

Peter Karanja, another worker who was at the quarry with the deceased, said they were the only workers on site on Monday but he left a few minutes before the quarry collapsed.

“I had just left the quarry when a few minutes later I received a phone call that the quarry had collapsed on my colleague,” Karanja narrated.

He eulogized his departed colleague as a good man, saying they had worked at the quarry together for two years.

Police arrived at the scene but they could not do anything, as they had to wait for a bulldozer to move the debris.

The public that had gathered at the scene grew impatient after waiting for close to two hours for the bulldozer and decided to use shovels and hammers to help retrieve the body.

The body was taken to Murang’a County Mortuary.

Murang’a County executive in charge of transport and infrastructure, Engineer Amos Njoroge, warned the public to be careful during the rainy season, urging county workers to avoid areas prone to landslides.

He noted that the county government, in partnership with the National Disaster Management Committee, inspected the other quarries to ensure their safety.

The county executive also mentioned that the county government has mapped landslide and flood prone areas and given recommendation to the residents to move to safer grounds before it is too late.

He ordered for the closure of the quarry and said anybody found mining stones in the quarry would be arrested and prosecuted.