URN.Kiwanuka arrived in Kyakuduse on Tuesday evening to fix the pump but got trapped in the tank due to insufficient oxygen supply. It is alleged that the snap hook on his climbing buckle broke and he fell inside the tank and had no way of getting out.
Two men have suffocated to death inside an underground water tank in Kasaali town council in Kyotera district. They are Eng. Ramathan Kiwanuka, a resident of Nansana town, Nansana municipality in Wakiso district and Robert Ssebayigga, a resident of Kyakuduse village in Kasaali town council.
Kiwanuka and his team constructed the 130ft-deep water tank and installed a pump for water supply about a year ago. The pump broke down last week prompting Amir Kavuma, the tank owner to call Kiwanuka to fix the problem. Kiwanuka arrived in Kyakuduse on Tuesday evening to fix the pump but got trapped in the tank due to insufficient oxygen supply.
It is alleged that the snap hook on his climbing buckle broke and he fell inside the tank and had no way of getting out. Kavuma got concerned when the engineer yelled for help but the screaming stopped a few minutes later. Amid the panic, Kavuma called Ssebayigga to enter the tank and pull out Kiwanuka. Ssebayigga asked for Shillings 3million for the task, which Kavuma agreed to pay.
However, Ssebayigga also lost it after losing oxygen inside the tank. All attempts by the residents to rescue the two men failed since the majority would complain about the difficulty in breathing just a few minutes after entering the tank. Officers from the Masaka Police Fire and Rescue team arrived at the scene about two hours later and could not save the duo.
Muhammad Nsubuga, the Southern Regional Police spokesperson, says that they have managed to pull out Ssebayigga’s body and taken it to Kalisizo hospital for postmortem as investigations continue.
The police fire and rescue team is still struggling to retrieve Kiwanuka’s body. Kavuma has recorded a statement at Kyotera police station to aid the ongoing investigations.
