A family in Igoji, Meru County, is demanding the resumption of rescue operations at Mutonga One quarry after one person remained missing eight days after a landslide killed three people.
The family and local leaders have accused the county government of withdrawing excavators from the site before the missing person was retrieved from beneath heavy soil and rocks.
The quarry collapsed on October 21, 2026, burying workers under tonnes of debris in a disaster that claimed three lives, with uncertainty still surrounding the whereabouts of the missing person.
The family members, who were preparing to bury their loved ones, said the withdrawal of the machinery had compounded their grief, leaving them without answers about the fate of the person still unaccounted for.
Paul Mwendia said residents of Nkumbo were distressed by the loss of three people and the continued uncertainty over the missing individual.
“We wonder as Nkumbo residents, what kind of a government did we elect? Why abandon us at the time of need? Why did they take away the excavator before the rescue exercise was over, because one person is yet to be retrieved?” Mwendia asked.
It was unclear whether the missing person remained trapped beneath the rubble or had left the scene without being accounted for.
The uncertainty has heightened calls for the county government to clarify the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal of the excavators and explain whether rescuers had exhausted efforts to locate the missing person.
Meru senatorial aspirant Mugambi Imanyara said the county government should ensure recovery efforts were completed to give the affected family closure.
“The disaster management team should be on the ground to recover the body. I am not aware if the county left before they searched and did not find the person. If it is true, then the county government should use all its resources and machines for the family of the missing person to live at peace,” Imanyara said.
He said abandoning recovery efforts before establishing the whereabouts of the missing person would be inhumane, urging the county to deploy the necessary equipment if the individual had not been found.
The incident has raised concerns about disaster response and the coordination of rescue operations at quarry sites, where unstable ground and heavy rock formations can complicate recovery efforts.
