Tragedy in Mt Darwin as cow falls into well, killing young woman

MOUNT DARWIN - A 21-year-old woman from Village Mauswa under Chief Dotito has died in a freak accident after a cow fell into a well while she was inside, fetching water.

Forget Machado had accompanied her mother, Fungai Chingwena (63), to their garden on October 22 to water tobacco seedlings. The garden, located about 1km from their home, relied on an open well situated roughly 30 meters away.

While Machado was inside the well drawing water, two cattle approached and began scrambling for water from a bucket placed nearby. One of the cows lost balance and fell into the well, landing on Machado. She died instantly.

Deputy police spokesperson for Mashonaland Central, Lucy Chigwenhese, confirmed the incident. "A report was made at Dotito Police at 1600 hours. The body was retrieved by villagers and ferried to Karanda Hospital Mortuary for post-mortem," she said.

Police have urged communities to fence or cover open wells and supervise livestock to prevent similar tragedies. "Always restrict animal access to areas where human activity is ongoing, especially near unprotected water sources," Chigwenhese added.