Activity came to a standstill after on Sunday after an explosive went off in one of the largest quarries in Naivasha, leaving one dead.

The explosive, ordinarily used to blow stones, exploded as the middle-aged man was setting it up at Kinamba quarry located off the Naivasha-Kirima road.

Grief-struck

Grief hung in the air among relatives and tens of the workers before police moved in to ferry the remains to the Naivasha sub-county hospital mortuary.

The incident came barely a fortnight after a man was crushed to death by a boulder in another quarry near Maraigushu area in Naivasha.

Exploded on setting up

In the latest incident, the explosive accidentally went off as it was being set up killing the man on the spot as his colleagues fled for safety.

According to Jackson Mathenge, it was the norm to use explosives in the quarry to break down boulders that would be later turned into building stones.

“There was a loud bang and the deceased was cut into pieces and died on the spot due to the impact of the explosive,” he said.

He said that it was not yet clear what triggered the explosive to blow off as this had never happened in the quarry in years.