• FIRE brigade officers and police carry the body of a woman buried alive from the trench after being retrieved in Kitwe yesterday. Picture by MOFFAT CHAZINGWA

By MOFFAT CHAZINGWA-
A THIRTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD woman has tragically died together with her daughter, aged 18, after being buried alive in a trench where they were excavating  stones for crushing in Kitwe.
The two women met their fate yesterday around 10:00 hours while digging out stones in a trench more than 10 metres deep. In the process, it caved in and buried them alive on the outskirts of Racecourse Township.
The tragic death of the two family members brought Racecourse and the surrounding areas to a virtual standstill as people in numbers trekked to the scene of the accident.
Kitwe City Council (KCC) spokesperson Dorothy Sampa and Kitwe District Police Commissioner Lizzy Machina, who were present during the joint fire brigade and State Police operation to retrieve the bodies, named the deceased as Priscah Kaluba and daughter Ireen, of house number 1242 Racecourse.
A Times reporter who rushed to the scene of the accident around 11:00 hours found that the rescue team had already retrieved the body of the daughter while that of the mother remained trapped.
Earth-moving machinery that included a front-end loader and an excavator were mobilised to help retrieve the trapped woman, an operation that lasted about three hours from 12:00 to 15:00 hours when the body retrieved.
As the rescue operation was being executed, hundreds of people, including Kitwe Mayor Kelvin Sinyangwe, gathered around gripped with emotion.
Ms Sampa said the council received information around 10:00 hours that some women, from one family involved in activities of quarrying stones for crushing, had been trapped in a trench which caved in.
“By the time we arrived, we found one had been dug out and rushed to hospital but died later,” Ms Sampa said.
She expressed regret at the loss of lives especially through illegal activities.
“As Kitwe City Council, we have been telling people to refrain from such activities that endanger their lives and now the loss for this family is much worse than imagined,” Ms Sampa said.
Eye witness Exhildah Chola, who is sister-in-law to the deceased mother, said she was on the surface while the two were quarrying stones in the trench when it caved in and trapped them.
Ms Chola said other people around quickly mobilised and, using shovels, managed to retrieve Ireen who died later while being taken to hospital.