Man slips at Nyeri quarry, plunges 20 feet to his death

Francisca Kirigo shows the spot at a quarry in Kiganjo, Nyeri County, where a 55-year-old worker died on October 25, 2016. PHOTO | NICHOLAS KOMU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The was excavating building stones the site when he slipped and fell.
  • Last year, a middle-aged woman died in a similar incident after a quarry caved in and buried her alive.

A 55-year-old man slipped and died on Tuesday while he was working at Kwa Bororo quarry in Kiganjo, Nyeri County.

Francis Mugai Githui was excavating building stones at the site when he slipped and fell into a 20-foot-deep pit.

According to eyewitness Fransisca Kirigo, fellow workers in the neighbouring quarries responded to Mr Githui's distress calls.

Ms Kirigo said the father of five suffered serious injuries in his face, chest and legs after big rocks fell on him in the afternoon incident.

“We heard a loud thud, which was the movement of huge rocks that buried him. I contacted a taxi from Chaka and he was rushed to Nyeri Referral Hospital for treatment,” said Ms Kirigo.

He succumbed to the injuries en route to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

She said Mr Githui had worked in the area for three years after moving from another quarry in Thunguma in Nyeri town.

“He relocated with his family from Thunguma to Solio settlement scheme. He was a hardworking man and friendly to all other workers in this area,” Ms Kirigo noted.

She added that a middle-aged woman, who crushed stone into ballast, died in September last year in a similar incident after a quarry caved in and buried her alive.