Two men died horrifically after a hill collapsed and they were buried alive by its soil in Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo yesterday.
Two Men Buried Alive
Daily Sun reported that on 6 December 2023, five employees were loading sand into a tipper truck in Ga-Sekgopo village in Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo Province. They were working at the Morakoni section, which is just next to a river.
As the excavator dug through the hill, a huge wall they had ploughed collapsed and buried Thapelo Sebopetsa (19) and Nyedi France Machete (58) alive.
Three of their colleagues managed to flee from the fatal soils which unfortunately trapped Thapelo and Nyedi underneath.
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Police Confirm The Tragic Incident
Limpopo police spokesman Hlulani Mashaba shared details of the rescue operation to Daily Sun:
“After a tireless rescue operation that was completed at around 16:30 hours, the lifeless bodies of the two men were found after being covered by soil for a long time in the afternoon. The deceased were identified at the scene by relatives as Thapelo Sebopetsa (19) and Nyedi France Machete (58),” said Mashaba.”
A witness said a joint operation by the police, ambulance and fire services rescued the two. The operation also used a TLB machine that the owner of the tipper truck provided.
Pictures from the incident published by Daily Sun show the scene where a tipper truck is standing next to an excavator. In front of the vehicles is a huge pile of soil next to a dug hill. The soil heap is the one that buried Thapelo and Nyedi.
This is not the first time a tragic incident of this sort happens. Last year, a Kitwe man in Zambia died after he was buried by a heap while digging a trench.
The man and two colleagues were digging soil from an anthill so they can use it to make bricks.