Two men have died after being buried alive when a wall collapsed at a sand mine in Ng'ando village, Athi River, Machakos County . The tragic incident occurred on Thursday, August 21, 2026, at a sand harvesting site in Muthwani Ward, Athi River Sub-county . The victims have been identified as Hassan Iddi Ali, 48, and Amos Musyoki Nzioka, 37 .
According to police reports, the two were part of a group of five people who had gone to the site to harvest sand when the unstable wall caved in, burying them instantly . Officers from Joska Police Station, alongside DCI detectives and members of the public, responded to the scene and assisted in retrieving the bodies, which had suffered severe injuries including broken legs and head trauma . The bodies were processed and moved to a local mortuary .
This tragedy once again highlights the deadly risks faced by thousands of young Kenyans who eke out a living from informal sand harvesting sites. The victims were well known in the area and were among the many youth who harvest sand and load it into lorries to earn a daily wage . Eyewitnesses told The Star that the deceased were familiar figures in the community .
The incident has sparked mourning among locals, with 2027 Mavoko parliamentary aspirant Ndaisi Kipanga expressing his condolences and pledging to push for safer and more dignified sand harvesting methods if elected . This is not an isolated event; just days earlier, another man died after a sandbank collapsed on him along the Kwamboo River in Kinanie, Machakos County .
The recurrence of such accidents raises urgent questions about the lack of regulation and safety standards in the informal mining sector, where workers are exposed to unstable ground and collapsing structures with little to no protection
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