Prayers at a Catholic Church in Hola Town turned tragic when an elderly woman fell into a pit latrine and died.
The 86-year old Malika Guyato died as she was being rushed to Malindi Sub County Hospital where she had been referred to.
Church members said that the granny, who was attending mass, went to answer a call of nature in one of the pit latrines in the church, but the floor caved in, forcing her to tumble down.
Caved in
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A security guard at the religious institution heard a strange sound from the pit latrine and upon checking, he found out that the slab had caved in. On checking further, she saw the movement of a human being and alerted other worshippers.
The faithful were forced to abandon the holy mass and rush to the scene, where they found elderly Guyato half covered by human waste as she lay on her chest.
“We heard the security guard screaming for help and rushed outside to see what was happening only to find that Guyato had fallen into the pit,” said Jane Simon, a member of the church.
Futile attempt
Jane said when their efforts to rescue the groaning woman from the pit became futile, they called a Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) team, which arrived promptly but took more than one hour to save the woman from drowning in the sludge.
The victim also suffered internal bleeding that resulted in breathing difficulties. Medical personnel had to drain blood from her lungs through an improvised tube since there was no proper equipment for the exercise.
The County Health Administrative Director, Omar Dhadho, conceded that the hospital lacked vital facilities and staff, but denied claims of negligence among staff members.