Three children die in septic tank accident in Mombasa

Three children died after falling into a 30 foot-deep septic tank in Mshomoroni, Mombasa County on Friday evening.

It was a double tragedy for one family which lost two children in the accident.

The three children, aged between five and 13, fell in when playing on the slab that covered the tank.

An eyewitness, Mwinyi Ramadhan, said he heard screams and when he approached, he saw two floating bodies.

He then called the neighbours who began the process of retrieving the bodies.

“I was passing by but on reaching here, I heard screams; it appeared that they had fallen in the tank about 10 minutes before. It was traumatising,” said Mr Ramadhan.

He said the septic tank had been constructed 20 years ago and had not been repaired since.

POOR WORKMANSHIP

John Mula, who lost his son in the accident, said he was in his house when he received a phone call from a neighbour informing him what happened.

"It is a tragedy I have lost my last born. He was just playing around the house, I was surprised to hear that he was one of the children who had died," he said, adding that his son, who was a Standard Two pupil, had always played around the house and it shocked him that he had wandered so far.

The residents attributed the accident to poor workmanship and blamed the area leaders for allowing illegal construction in the area, with Mr Ramadhan claiming the tank was not properly constructed.

Mombasa County housing and planning executive Francis Thoya told the Nation an investigation would be launched to determine whether the construction of the septic tank was part of the original plan.

"We will hold the developer responsible for the deaths of the children if we find out it was built illegally. It is the responsibility of the developer to ensure safety of the community.

"We will also ask the ministry of environment whether they approved the septic tank because it is illegal to dig such a deep tank. The maximum depth is about 18 feet, otherwise you will be polluting the water table,” he said.

The bodies were taken to the Coast Provincial General Hospital mortuary.