Pits of death

The lawmaker representing Ghari/Tsanyawa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Sani Bala, told journalists that about 10 labourers were unaccounted for and were feared dead underneath the rubble. Subsequent reports cited him confirming two persons dead and two others rescued with injuries.

The pit caved in as the labourers were conducting manual sand excavation for brick-making. Upon rescue efforts, community members pulled out a survivor at about 2:00p.m. and another at about 5:00p.m.

The incident highlighted safety concerns relating to informal mining and excavation practices in Nigeria.

Reports said following the collapse of the pit, community residents propelled by desperation and grief scrambled to rescue those buried beneath the rubble in efforts that lasted hours. The scene was chaotic as anguished villagers slugged through the earth pile burying the trapped labourers.

“It was like a nightmare. We heard the sound of the pit collapsing and people screaming for help. We ran to the scene, but it was too late for some,” a community member whose brother was among the persons trapped told ‘The Nation’ newspaper. According to him, villagers dug through the rubble with bare hands and rudimentary implements to dig out the survivors and recover the two victims who were confirmed dead at the hospital.

All the while, support in form of specialised emergency response was nowhere forthcoming for the villagers. Lawmaker Bala noted that while the villagers and first responders undertook manual rescue operation, digging through the debris with local tools, their efforts were inadequate for the scale of the disaster.

“We need urgent assistance to save those still trapped. While the community is doing its best, professional rescue support is needed,” the lawmaker said on the heels of the mishap, adding: “We are appealing for immediate deployment of specialised equipment and rescue vehicles to accelerate the evacuation and prevent further loss of life.”

When sought out about the incident, spokesperson of the Kano State Fire Service, Saminu Abdullahi, said the agency had yet to receive an official report. “We have not received any report on the incident. The Ghari office has not received any report. But as soon as we get details, we will provide updates,” he told journalists.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Bala called on emergency management agencies to provide support for the affected victims, so to alleviate their suffering.

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Pit collapses are a recurrent tragedy in rural communities where deep pits are often excavated without structural reinforcement or attention to safety standards. Artisanal brick-making is itself a pervasive grassroots cottage industry that has largely eluded government regulation or close oversight. The absence of regulation and official oversight has mainly accounted for dubious quality of moulded bricks, which has direct implication for the integrity of buildings for which they are used. Artisanal brick-making is, however,  a popular venture in grassroots economy where the cost of safety equipment or professional evaluation as may be necessary is often prohibitive, fostering a high-risk operational environment.

It is doubtful whether this industry, with its grassroots pervasiveness, can be brought into government regulatory net. But even if it can’t, we recommend strict oversight on operations involved, including pit excavation to source brick-making materials. It isn’t likely to be easy, of course. But if government is assaying registering Point of Sales (POS) operators, as ubiquitous as they are, it can attempt bringing artisanal excavators and brick makers under oversight – even if that would mean involving all levels of government namely federal, state and local government.

The absence of skilled emergency response in the Kano tragedy leaves much to be desired. Emergency response should be what the name implies: swift, immediate and spontaneous response. Official agencies should not wait for formal notification before swinging into action when occasion warrants. They should rather undertake the rescue first and sort out the formalities later, otherwise there would be avoidable fatalities as stakeholders in the Kano incident alleged.