THE National Council for Construction (NCC) has recorded a statement from SBCC Construction Company over a recent accident in Lusaka's Ibex Hill in which five workers died.

NCC executive director Sylvester Mashamba said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that investigations to establish the cause of the accident in which five people contracted by SBCC died were on-going.

Dr Mashamba said officials sent to the accident scene to assess the situation had difficulties to get information as the area was deserted.

"We are now relying on information from the people who were on the scene during the time of the accident. We have since got a statement from the contractors," Dr Mashamba said.

He said NCC would today record statements from the workers who were present to try and get some evidence.

Last week, five people died after they were buried alive as they worked on a sewer line.

The five have since been buried, and police and NCC are currently conducting investigations into the matter.

Under the law, NCC has powers to withdraw an operating licence, warn or even prosecute and ensure a fine or jail sentence is imposed on any construction firm found wanting, especially where a firm does not carry out works in accordance with specifications.