Bodies of three men retrieved from latrine

The bodies of three men buried alive in Nyeri on Wednesday when a pit latrine they were digging caved in have been retrieved.

The bodies were recovered on Thursday at around 5:30pm following a rescue operation that took over 28 hours.

Nyeri county police commander Adiel Nyange said the operation started on Wednesday at 1pm, an hour after the latrine caved in.

“We are through now. We have been able to succeed and retrieved three bodies and they have now been taken to the morgue,” he said.

However Nyange declined to reveal names of those who lost their lives in the accident.

The rescue team left the scene at around 10pm Wednesday and resumed on Thursday at 8am. 

"Seven men were digging the pit.  Four were up while three were down when it collapsed,"  Nyange said.

They had been contracted to dig the latrine at Kiandu Secondary School in Tetu subcounty, Nyeri County.

They were to dig a 50-foot pit but it collapsed after they had dug slightly under 40 feet.

It is believed the pit collapsed following the ongoing rains which has saturated the soils.

The multi-rescue team comprised Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Police, members of the public and Nyeri county government resuers.

Kenya Red Cross Central region manager Gitonga Mugamb said the rescue operation delayed because of the depth of the pit.

“The challenge we were facing is that the pit is very deep as it is about 40 feet. But we had done a response layout,” he said.

Mugambi called on people to be cautious when digging deep pits during this rainy season.

He said recently a latrine sunk in Ndiaini Secondary School in Mukurwe-ini leaving several students injured.

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga said the county government will cater for funeral expenses. He said his government will also look for ways of assisting the families.