Man dies after suspected oxygen shortage while handling petroleum products in Mombasa
A 27-year-old man died while two others were hospitalised after they were reportedly overcome while handling petroleum products at a yard in Port Reitz, Mombasa County.
The three men were taken to hospital by a Good Samaritan in a tuk-tuk at around 1.50am on Thursday.
Police officers visited the hospital and established that one of the three patients was unresponsive, while another was semi-conscious and the third was conscious.
The unresponsive man was pronounced dead, while the two others were placed on oxygen and admitted for treatment.
The deceased was identified as Wycliffe Kitungu Peter, a 27-year-old man.
The two survivors remained admitted at the hospital.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the three men had been handling petroleum products at an unidentified yard in the Port Reitz area when they are suspected to have run short of oxygen, leading to the incident.
The deceased’s body was moved to the Coast General Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the conditions under which the three men were handling the petroleum products.
And a 36-year-old gold miner died after a mining shaft collapsed in West Migwena Sub-Location, Central Sakwa Location, Bondo Sub-County, Siaya County.
The incident occurred at around 9pm on Wednesday after a group of 22 casual miners descended into the tunnel to carry out their daily mining activities.
Police officers from Bondo Police Station and DCI rushed to the scene after receiving a report that the shaft had collapsed, trapping one of the miners.
The deceased was identified as David Juma Onyango.
Fellow artisanal miners mounted a rescue operation and managed to retrieve Onyango’s body from the collapsed tunnel. He had sustained a visible injury to his back.
Police said two other miners were also rescued with minor injuries but left the scene before they could be documented. The remaining 19 miners escaped unhurt.
The scene was processed by police officers, while the body was moved to Bondo Sub-County Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the mine collapse are ongoing.
Such incidents are on the rise at gold mining sites amid calls for safety measures to be put in place to address the trend.