Saudi Gazette report

NAJRAN — Two workers drowned while they were down a manhole in Yadmah on Tuesday supervising testing of Najran’s Empty Quarter water transportation project, Al-Watan Arabic newspaper reported on Saturday.



A water pump inside the manhole burst and the victims were quickly submerged in water.



Najran’s Director General of Water Mohammad Al-Duwais said the project involved several companies and an error on the part of the victims led to the tragedy.



He said: “The company responsible for transporting the water tanks from the Empty Quarter to Yadmah was testing the water pumps in several stations on the way.



“The two victims were supervising the operation and they moved from station to station to ensure that all stations worked properly.”



He added the victims got into a three-meter deep manhole that was 80 cm in diameter.



“The Kingdom’s safety instructions specify that one should never test the water pump from inside the manhole,” Al-Duwais said.



“Regardless, they got into the manhole and turned the drain valve with their bare hands.



“Their training also teaches them the proper way of opening a drain valve and they were supposed to stand outside of the manhole and use a special rod to turn the valve.”



He also added the directorate takes no responsibility for the accident.



Najran Civil Defense spokesman Saud Al-Fateeh managed to haul the victims’ bodies out of the manhole.



“We drove for about 6 km to the accident scene. The manhole was flooded with water and the victims died drowning,” he said.



“Fortunately, one of the bodies was easy to reach while the other took an hour to find,” Al-Fateeh added.