Douala: Landslide kills three construction workers, injures two.

Two of the workers were rescued while three others were still trapped by the time the rescue unit arrived the scene. 

The Commander of the 21st Military Regiment, Colonel Nko'o Jean, led a team of rescuers to the incident site around Farmi Boutique at the Logbessou neighborhood in Douala V Subdivision. 

He said the deceased persons were all in their 20s. Colonel Nko'o said the three victims had been involved in foundation digging at the construction site. 

"They had dug the grown so deep that suddenly, the natural soil collapsed and covered the victims,” he said. The search and retrieval operations took over two hours, according to the authorities.

He questioned the timeliness of the project, especially as this is the period of serious rains. 

Sources say two of the victims are from same family who were on holidays in Douala.

"We know that they usually come here to work because we see them eating around here when they are working. It is painful they had to die while looking for daily bread…this is the labour of a mother gone in vain," said an onlooker.

The Secretary General at the Littoral Governor's Office, Aboubakary Haman Tchiouto, visited the scene to take stock of the gravity of the incident.

He used the opportunity to sensitise Douala city dwellers to avoid building in areas that do not conform to construction norms. 

The civil administrator later visited the Cite de Palmiers hospital, where he comforted the wounded victims. 

He, on behalf of the Littoral Governor and other regional authorities, extended sympathy to the families of the deceased. 

The corpses of the deceased, it should be said, have been deposited at the Laquintini Hospital. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3172 of Thursday July 18, 2024