Zambia: A 51-year-old man has been crushed to death by a machine at a manganese plant in Serenje District in Central Province. The accident happened when the victim was at work at the Magnese plant in the district.
The officials have also identified the victim who was killed in the accident as Henry Mwenda. According to the police force, the victim worked as a Conveyor Operator at PLR Manganese Smelting Company at Pensulo in Serenje District.
The incident happened on Sunday, at approximately 19:30 hours when the victim was at the smelting plant. The information about the incident has been confirmed by Provincial Police Commanding Officer, Charity Munganga.
She shared some details about the unfortunate incident with the media in an official police statement. The media statement included crucial information about the incident including the identity of the deceased.
Other details included the place of the deceased’s work and the time of his death. The media statement also shared that they have started the investigation into the incident.
The Provincial Police Officer explained that Mwenda was discovered mangled in the machine following a check by colleagues. The colleagues took the initiative to look after he failed to respond to a signal to start the machine after tippers offloaded manganese in the next feed.
She said preliminary investigations suggest that the victim died after being pulled into the machine by the conveyor belt. She added that the deceased suffered a broken right hand and bruises on the chest and the face while blood was oozing out from the nose and mouth.
The Police Chief said the body had been deposited at Serenje District Hospital Mortuary, awaiting postmortem. The situation points to the strict need to employ better protective measures within workplaces.
The protective measures are especially important for the factories that use heavy machinery and similar equipment. The people shared their heartfelt condolences on the death of the man, calling on authorities to improve the safety protocols of the factories.