By James Mutasa

TWO Gweru City Council workers reportedly suffocated in a sewage manhole after inhaling suspected toxic gases on Wednesday this week.

The tragedy was confirmed by council spokesperson Vimbai Chingwaramusee in a statement yesterday.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the tragic loss of two city employees who passed away while on duty in Athlone. The incident occurred when they were working on a manhole and unfortunately succumbed to gas suffocation. We will conduct thorough investigations into this incident to ensure that measures are put in place to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future,” she said.

Chingwaramusee, however, said council prioritised the health and safety of its employees, stakeholders and residents.

“The City of Gweru values the lives of its employees and residents, and we take the safety of our workers very seriously. We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident to ensure that measures are put in place to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future,” she said.

Gweru mayor Martin Chivhoko identified the deceased as Richard Longwe and Mary Svinurai.

“This is, indeed, a sad situation and on behalf of councillors and management, I say we are deeply saddened by the loss of Longwe and Svinurai who passed away while serving our community in Athlone,” he said.

Meanwhile there is an uproar on social media platforms as the public registers its displeasure over the incident. A similar incident occurred in Kadoma recently Several people, however, took to social media platforms to register their displeasure at the loss of the workers and implored council to ensure “high safety standards” for its employees.