At least five people are feared dead after part of the earth caved in and buried them alive as they were working on a sewer line in a splashy residential area in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, local media reported on Monday.



The men were engaged by a private contractor and were working on the sewer line on a private property when part of the earth collapsed on them while in the ditch.

Zambia Police Deputy Spokesperson Charity Munganga told local radio Radio Phoenix that the five people were working on the sewer when it collapsed on Sunday around 5 p.m. local time.

When contacted by Xinhua to get the actual number of men who were in the ditch, the police spokesperson, who was in the country' s highest referral hospital- the University Teaching Hospital (UTH)trying to identify the bodies, promised to issue a comprehensive statement later.

But the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC), which is responsible for water and sewerage services in the city, said there was no public safety guaranteed when the men were carrying out of the works which have since been suspended.

LWSC Public Relations Officer Topsy Sikalinda told local media that fire fighters were called in to try to retrieve the bodies.