Two crashed to death in Mombasa port accident: The Standard

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Two people have died and four others injured at the port of Mombasa after they were crashed by a machine as they handled fertiliser.
The incident has sparked a protest from the port workers’ union.
James Mwangi Gathedo, 44, and Vikash Singh, 35, were crashed to death on Friday evening when a silo bin they were using to offload the fertiliser collapsed.
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The incident also left six others with serious injuries and were rushed to Coast General Hospital Teaching and Referral Hospital.
The two, an engineer and assistant, were reportedly installing a machine for discharge and storage of fertiliser at Portside Freight Terminals, a private firm, when the accident happened.

Others injured were Hassan Munyaka, Keya Buria, Rebecca Maraga, Morris Oluoch, Laik Ahmed and Bibi Rahma.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to Pandya mortuary.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managing director Rashid Salim confirmed the incident, saying the engineer from the private firm was installing the fertiliser bagging equipment.
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“We regret to confirm that an accident occurred inside the port at shed number 7/8 when some engineers from a private firm were installing a fertiliser bagging equipment.
“It is unfortunate that two people have been confirmed dead while six have been injured. We have immediately teamed up with relevant authorities to establish the actual cause of the accident,” a statement said.
Dock Workers Union general secretary Simon Sang called for immediate suspension of the fertiliser offloading and removal of the heavy machinery, claiming it was a recipe for disaster as it was allegedly installed on weak ground.
Addressing the press at the union offices, Sang claimed the whole area from berth one to 16 at the port cannot withstand heavy equipment.
“We suspect the cause of the collapse of the equipment is poor quality of the work which was never inspected and certified by the safety department of KPA and quality engineers,” Sang said.
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He blamed KPA management for allowing the private firm to start the operations at the shed.
Sang said the union team will next week write to Salim over alleged illegal transfer of the berth 7/8 and shed to private hands, claiming it should have been done with approval of Parliament and the Privatization Commission of Kenya.
He also said the KPA head of legal services division together with the acting managing director should explain why the private firm was allowed to operate the terminal.
“We are of the opinion that the two officers in KPA are supposed to answer questions with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission concerning the transfer of core business to private hands..,” Sang said.
He added that the union will move to court next week to challenge the transfer of shed number 7/8 and alleged privatisation of cargo verification.

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