Two people have tragically lost their lives in Nairobi’s industrial area after falling into an industrial chemical reactor and inhaling what was suspected to be harmful gas at one company.
Several scores of others working at the said company are also reported to have been rushed to the hospital after suffering injuries related to the toxic chemicals.
According to a family member of one of the deceased, they learnt of the death of their kin after they received a call from one of the coworkers.
”We were called by one of the people he works with, informing me that my brother has died,” Charles Pamba, brother to the deceased, stated.
A police car at a crime scene in Kenya.
Photo
NPS
”They are reported to have entered inside the pit and suffered drastic oxygen drops and died,” he added, stating that he could not come to closure to what happened.
The other person is reported to have died while on the way to the hospital. The families are now demanding clear information from the company on whether it was a case of safety neglect.
”They do not provide them with personal protective clothing, so you find the workers go into the dangerous areas with no protection,” Pamba added.
Reports suggest that the two were contracted by the company to work as cleaners and were attending to their casual duties when they met their deaths.
The said company dealing in the resale of recycled materials, however, responded to the contacts by stating that they would release a more detailed report on the incident upon completion of internal preliminary investigations.
The two bodies were moved to the mortuary as police began their investigations on the matter, which has shocked many residents of the area.
By the time of publishing this story, neither the county government of Nairobi nor the local health authorities had released a report on the matter.
The incident is likely to spark a debate on the issue of how companies handle the safety issues of their employees, especially those working in industrial setups who are often predisposed to unhealthy work environments.
An ambulance parked outside a hospital in Kenya.
Photo Diani Beach Hospital