Two buried alive after collapse of a sand mining pit

Kabale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A sand mining pit has collapsed burying two men in Kamuganguzi sub county in Kabale district.

Elly Maate, the Kigezi region police spokesperson has identified the deceased as Edwin Niwagaba, 30, and Simon Arinaitwe, 24, residents of Nyakyonga and Rukaranga villages in Kamuganguzi sub county respectively.

According to the police report, at around 7 am on Wednesday morning, a group of sand miners went to a mining site in Rukaranga cell where they found two jackets of their friends hanged somewhere near a collapsed sandpit.

After searching for the owners of the jackets in vain, the group contacted their relatives who confirmed that the missing young men had left for the sand mine early in the morning.

After notifying police, residents dug out the pit to search for the missing people and recovered their lifeless bodies in the sand, with blood oozing from the nose and eyes. Police arrived at the scene and conducted a postmortem before handing over the bodies to their relatives for burial.

Kabale police have started inquiries vide reference number SD 03/31/03/2021. Some of the sand mining experts and business men involved in the industry told URN that it is risky to mine sand during the rainy season since the soil blocks develop cracks and slide easily.

Charles Kateeba who owns sand mining sites in Kirigime Southern Division, Kabale Municipality says the casual labourers usually pester sand mine owners for jobs and insist on digging for sand even in rainy seasons.

Dan Muhwezi, the Kijuguta Ward Youth chairperson in Northern Division, Kabale Municipality and also a former sand miner has asked the youths to avoid risking their lives in sand mines during the rainy season.

*****

URN