EDITOR – I READ of the death of four family members in Budiriro 4, Harare, early this week with a heavy heart.
The four died while draining murky water in a well using a submersible pump which is suspected to have released carbon monoxide that suffocated the four.
May their souls rest in peace!
However this tragedy could fall on other families as cleaning of wells is a common practice in the country during the rain season.
Most wells experience surface infiltration that suddenly turns water brownish or discoloured after heavy rains.
It is estimated that half of the population in Harare obtains their drinking water from groundwater wells.
And many families usually do the ‘flushing’ of their wells without realising the danger that comes with the exercise.
Most people use buckets to flush out the water and when well water has reached base level one then goes into the well to remove the remaining water.
But the Budiriro incident should serve as a warning not to flush wells without professional help.
Let us leave well-cleaning to qualified professional well system contractors.
Let us preserve lives and where such incidents occur, let us wait for the police and sub aqua units to come to the rescue.
The Jokomela tragedy could have been avoided had they sought qualified professionals.
And the deaths could have been minimised had they waited for the police and sub aqua rescue teams.
Let us not lose lives due to ‘cutting costs’ as it ends up being more costly.

Kayden Tafadzwa, Kuwadzana, Harare.