Tendai Vambe
Post Reporter
A ROUTINE day of manual labour turned fatal yesterday (Sunday), when John Dhliwayo Simango (29), of Kojana Village under Chief Garahwa, Chipinge, died instantly when shifting earth and a falling tree turned a construction pit into a lethal trap.
Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the incident.
He said Simango and two companions — Darlington Chimbanje (28) and Elias Tidongeni (19), both from Mupedzi Village — were unearthing pit sand when disaster struck.
“On November 8, the three men were digging pit sand in a pit which was approximately eight metres deep. During the process, a tree which was at the edge fell into the pit,” said Assistant Inspector Chinyoka.
The collapse caught the workers off guard.
A falling tree branch struck Tidongeni on the forehead, but he clawed his way out of the pit and summoned urgent help from nearby villagers.
Villagers rushed to the scene and rescued Chimbanje from the rubble.
Despite rapid intervention, Simango had already succumbed to his injuries and died at the scene.
Police officers from Chisumbanje Police Station attended the scene following the report, and the deceased’s body was ferried to St Peter’s Mission Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Pit sand extraction turns fatal
