How Will My Daughters Survive? Asks Widow With Tearful Eyes
Ididn’t know that my husband would not be present to help me prepare our daughters go back to school.”
Those were the words of Arieta Kanailagi, 29, while weeping at her home in Nailawa, Labasa over the death of her husband, Timoci Kanailagi, 30.
The father of two children was buried alive after he was trapped in the hole he helped dig as part of water maintenance repairs in Labasa on Sunday evening.
The incident happened at Damanu Street in the central area of Labasa. Ms Kanailagi said her husband did their daughter’s Year Three shopping on Saturday and on Sunday he didn’t feel like going to work because he wanted to help their daughter prepare well for her going back to school.
“When the company vehicle came twice asking for Timoci to come to work he dropped everything and went saying that he doesn’t want to see anyone disappointed,” Ms Kanailagi said.
“After work Timoci always goes to the back of the house to take off his overralls because he is always covered with mud.
“Then he knocks on the door for us to open and he runs straight to his daughters to hug and greet them.
“That Sunday night I could only hear the sound of vehicles and saw many police officers and his workmates at the doorstep.
“I then realised something bad happened and called my fatherin-law to talk to them while I held to my one year and 11 months old baby girl outside.
“I was shattered when I was told that Timoci died,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“The company that he worked for told me that after Timoci finished work he tried to climb out of the hole.
“He told his workmate to leave and suddenly he went back inside the hole and the loose soil on the edge fell and covered him.
“No one knows why he went back inside the hole.”
“Timoci has worked for Water Authority of Fiji for many years and he was their Occupational Health and Safety Officer and at the job site. He was the team leader instructing people what to do,” she said. “What went wrong I don’t know?
“I didn’t know that my seven years of marriage will come to an end like this. “Timoci was the breadwinner of the house and without him I don’t know how my two daughters will survive.”
Meanwhile, Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said they were waiting for the results of the post mortem as the investigation continues. Mr Kanailagi, originally from Viwa Village in the province of Tailevu, was part of a team contracted by the WAF to repair underground pipes.