Two killed as trench collapses
Two policemen survey the trench in which the workers were trapped
The bodies of the deceased lie next to the road while police wait for the mortuary van to arrive
Dalena van Jaarsveld
TWO female construction workers were killed when a three-metre deep trench they were working in collapsed at Mandlankala next to the B10 leading into eSikhaleni on Friday.
According to the foreman in charge, Celimpilo Dludla, the workers of Shearwater Construction were digging a trench for a water pipe when the mini avalanche hit, trapping them up to mid-chest level, forcing the air out of their lungs.
Five workers - three male and two female - were trapped, but the men survived the ordeal.
'We don't know what to say about this tragedy,' said a shocked neighbour of one of the deceased.
'She has three children and is the only breadwinner for the family. One of her children is mentally handicapped. Who is going to care for them now?'
Emergency workers on the scene said that the other construction workers tried their best to save their colleagues.
'They all jumped in and started digging,' said one paramedic.
The engineer in charge of the project, who did not want to be named, said he was not at the site when the tragedy occurred, but had warned the workers on a previous occasion that the trench walls were too steep.
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