A 31-year-old truck driver and a 30-year-old casual laborer have died after sand collapsed on them at a mining site in Kanungu District.
Police identified the driver as Umar Mbonigaba and the other victim as Simon Izobaryomwe, both residents of Kanyamisinga Village, Nyakashojwa Parish, Katete Sub-county, Kanungu District.
They were pronounced dead at the scene, although only Mbonigaba’s body had been recovered by press time.
Izobaryomwe’s body and an Isuzu Tipper truck, registration number UBQ 884U, were yet to be retrieved by Monday morning following the Sunday evening incident.
According to the Officer in Charge of Kanungu Central Police Station, Ms Esther Nakato, another casual labourer, Junior Tumwebaze, 24, and resident of the same village, survived with injuries following the sudden collapse of sand at the mining site where they were working.
Tumwebaze was rescued by colleagues and rushed to the hospital for medication following the Sunday evening incident.
First responders were seen using rudimentary tools in their search and rescue operation at the site.
Kanungu Resident District Commissioner, Mr Ambrose Mwesigye Amanyire on Monday, January 5, 2026, ordered police to cordon off the mining site until the district security committee announces measures and guidelines to follow at all sand mining sites in the district.
Authorities in the district said more than 10 people have lost their lives in similar accidents in the recent past.
Strict measures had earlier been imposed, including the use of mechanised equipment such as graders to level steep slopes. However, operators and workers continue to rely on casual labour, a practice that has contributed to repeated loss of life.