Chronicle Editor
Three men suffocated while they were draining water in a 19-metre-deep well in Mutare yesterday.
Police said the three were using a petrol-powered water pump which they had placed in the well to drain the water.
It is believed that the water pump emitted smoke which filled up the well and suffocated the victims.
Their bodies were retrieved and taken to a local hospital for post-mortem.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident.
“Police in Mutare are investigating a sad incident in which Last Murewa aged 31, Taurai Kamutano aged 41 and Elben Kandenga aged 38 died due to suffocation whilst draining water from an approximately 19-metre deep well using a petrol-powered water pump which they had placed in the well.
“The water pump emitted smoke which filled up the well and suffocated the victims,” he said.
In December 2021, three young girls aged seven, five and one, died in their sleep while their parents escaped death by a whisker at Jowa Village, in Inyati, after they suffocated from Aluminium Phosphide 560TB fumigation tablets that had been sprayed on shelled maize.
The maize was in a storeroom next to their bedroom.
The incident occurred on Christmas Day.
Aluminium Phosphide 560TB fumigation tablets are used to control pests in stored grain, seed, tobacco and storage premises.
It can also be used for the control of porcupines, moles, gerbils and other rodents as indicated.
The victims suffocated after their parents aged 42 and 27 had applied Aluminium Phosphide 560TB fumigation tablets on their shelled maize, stored the maize in a storeroom next to their bedroom and went to bed.
During the night, the victim’s parents developed some health complications and when they checked on their children, they discovered that they had already died.
The victim’s parents later received medical attention through the assistance of neighbours.
Online Reporter