A mining pit collapsed at Highwood Backdam, North West District (NWD), three days ago, which resulted in the death of 58-year-old porkknocker, Christopher Bumbury, who hails from Pakera, Matthew’s Ridge, NWD.
Preliminary investigations by the police in the region state that the southern wall of the dug-out mining pit, measuring about 15 feet in width by 20 feet in length by 22 feet in depth, had collapsed and covered the victim.
He and another workmate were at the time of the incident, digging gravel at the bottom of the southern wall when it caved.
As a result, his workmate Hilton Ward ran out of the pit and later returned with two other workmates, Paul Bumbury and Wilfred Bumbury, both of whom assisted in a search for the victim. His motionless body was found about 45 minutes after and there were no marks of violence seen by police.
At the Port Kaituma District Hospital, he was seen by a doctor on duty and pronounced dead on arrival at 13:45hrs on February 15 and later placed in cold storage awaiting a post-mortem examination.
