SURVIVORS of the explosion that killed six people at Grain
Marketing Board’s (GMB) Lion’s Den depot have recounted how the victims met
their horrific deaths three weeks ago.
Burials that were delayed by three weeks as the authorities
scrambled to identify the victims were finally conducted last Friday and a dark
cloud enveloped the Murereka community.
The sixth body was discovered four days after the blast as
it was buried under the rubble. Some workers who attended the funerals said the
blast left them with many questions.
“There is a possibility that it was a bomb explosion,” said
one of the workers on condition of anonymity. The explosion happened at the
entrance, trapping in some people in the dark after power went off.”
He said the explosion happened inside the silos and some of
the victims who were inside were burnt beyond recognition. One of his friends
was sliced by a conveyor belt.
“The explosion ripped open about five tonnes of concrete
and I doubt an electrical fault can cause such damage,” he added.
“There are also claims that gases used to treat the maize
grain could have caused the blast. It was a huge blast that was felt 5km away.”
Houses located about 5km from the GMB depot were damaged by
the blast.
Another employee said they heard a loud bang just after
midday as they were cleaning the GMB premises in preparation for a visit by
Lands minister Perrance Shiri later that day.
“The whole place vibrated and we heard some voices from the
silos crying for help,” he said.
Two of the victims had just been assigned duties to clean
the premises, replacing two that were summarily dismissed a few minutes earlier
for fighting over a sweeping broom.
The employee said when a helicopter arrived two hours later
everyone thought it was the Air Force on a rescue mission, only for Shiri to
emerge.
He claimed that as Shiri addressed the workers, they could
hear people trapped in the silos crying out for help.
Rescue teams from far-away Ngezi and Chinhoyi arrived hours
later.
The workers claimed on the day of the disaster they were
forced to spend the night at the depot amid claims of a plot to hide the
alleged theft of grain.
“We believe that has been done by a cartel linked to top
people and we suspect there was a bomb planted to destroy evidence of the
plunder,” said one of the workers.
They claimed that nepotism was rife at the depot. Two of
the victims, including another one still battling for his life in hospital, are
from the same family.
Obert Zhoya, the GMB Lion’s Den depot manager, refused to
comment on the blast and the allegations of nepotism.
Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, who attended the burial,
said investigations were still underway to establish the cause of the blast.
Tourism minister Prisca Mupfumira told mourners that there
was urgent need to implement safety measures at GMB depots to avoid unnecessary
deaths. Standard
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