DIVERS RECOVER YALELO WORKER’S BODY
A COMBINED team of divers from the Zambia Police, Zambia army and Yalelo have retrieved the last body from Lake Kariba following an accident that claimed two lives on Friday.
The two, Rodney Chilongo a lake operations manager and Isaac Banda a security supervisor were involved in an accident while carrying out their duties on Lake Kariba.
On Tuesday, the rescue team managed to retrieve the body of Chilongo but efforts to recover the body of Banda seemed impossible due to the vastness of the crocodile infested lake.
Banda's body was retrieved at around 06:34 hours on Tuesday and transported to Lusaka for postmortem and burial after the family demanded so.
The company refused to issue a comprehensive statement on the matter but promised to do so later saying for now all efforts were being channeled towards handling the funeral arrangements.
The discovery and retrieving of the last remaining body had put to rest the six days rescue operation mounted by the Zambia Police, Zambia Army and Yalelo divers who combed the lake day and night in search of the bodies.
On Tuesday, Siavonga District commissioner Lovemore Kanyama expressed sadness at the death of the two Yalelo employees and was hopeful that the bereaved families would find solace in od as they mourn their beloved ones.
Mr. Kanyama who was coordinating overnment response to the accident had promised that the search team would remain on the lake until the bodies were found.
Meanwhile, there was a sombre atmosphere at Siavonga District Hospital as the body of Banda was brought to the mortuary.
The body which was in a decomposed state was wheeled into the hospital mortuary at around 11:30 hrs by a Police detail amid wailing from relatives and community members from the nearby Kanyelele compound.