Siblings Drown In Construction Pit

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Monday August 9, 2010 00:00

 

 The pit was dug at the site of an expansion project of the Victoria Lodge in Mogoditshane about 15 kilometres from the centre of Gaborone.

Three Kubie siblings aged 13, 11, eight and their eight-year-old cousin met their fate around 2.30 pm when they allegedly entered an area where the lodge is expanding to.

They were pupils at Dihutso Primary School in Mogoditshane and in Standard Four, three and two respectively.

According to police estimates, the uncovered pit, which was a source of underground water, is about three metres deep and very steep.

The family spokeswoman and a cousin of the deceased, Bernadine Muir, said that the Kubie daughter aged 11, was running around,  only to slip into the pit. While trying to rescue her, the other three children also fell in.

'It was then that the younger child they were with rushed home to alert the elders. Two of their uncles went to the scene and recovered three bodies which were floating,' Muir said.

However, the fourth body, which was trapped in the mud, was found after pumping water out of the pit.

Muir said the area is always locked and it had a security guard, but for some reason, Thursday was an exception.

She added that the bereaved families will take the Victor Lodge management to task because they did not caution anyone about the area.

Rina Brywer, the children's swimming instructor in pre-school, said she did not understand what really happened because they could swim. However, she pointed out that the pit was too deep for anyone to come out. Assistant Superintendent Christopher Molobe of Mogoditshane Police Station confirmed that they knew about the incident. He said investigations are ongoing, and the four bodies are at Princess Marina Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem.

Molobe did not rule out the possibility of taking legal action. He said they will ask the mines department about the right procedures of obtaining soil samples. The police will ask whether pits should not be covered or fenced in.The owner of Victoria Lodge could not be reached for comment on Friday.