Four men have died at a construction site in Jam City Slum, Mavoko sub-county.
They were identified as Alex Makoha (32), Dennis Kiprop (20), Wilfred Otieno (30) and Paul Mutuku (30), all residents of the slum.
Athi River Police boss Sharma Wario said they had been hired by a Chinese company, Edaman Construction Company to help in digging a sewer line under construction at the slum.
He spoke to this writer at his office in Athi River town on Monday.
Wario said the four died on the spot after a wall of the trench they were digging collapsed and buried them at 4.30 pm on Sunday.
“There were six workers inside the trench when the incident occurred, the four and two others including a Chinese,” said Wario.
He said members of the public managed to save two people who had been trapped inside the trench including the Chinese.
Wario said the six were using spades to scoop soil from the trench which had been excavated by the machines when the incident happened leading to death of the four.
He said combined efforts of police, Mavoko fire brigade, Chinese excavators and members of the public managed to retrieve the bodies after four hours operation.
Wario said the bodies had been moved to Shalom Community Hospital Mortuary in Athi River town.
He said police had launched investigations into the matter.
“We may not tell whether the incident resulted out of negligence, relevant authorities will be contacted to give expert guidance. Investigations into the matter are on to determine whether there was negligence or lack of precaution,” said Wario.
Wario said the sewer line construction had been suspended due to the incident.