Gold mine collapse latest

Source: Gold mine collapse latest – Sunday News Apr 22, 2018

Peter Matika, Senior Reporter
A TUNNEL at a disused mine in Bubi District in Matabeleland North Province, in which at least 15 illegal gold panners were feared dead, after it caved in on them on Thursday afternoon, has been covered up.

This has raised concern among local leaders who fear that covering up of the tunnel could have effectively killed efforts to retrieve some of the bodies.
Matabeleland North police spokesperson Inspector Sipiwe Makonese last night said she was still not aware of how many people died in the tunnel.

However, when Sunday News visited the area yesterday, the local councillor Herbert Ngwendu (Ward 8) was fuming that covering the tunnel was premature.

An excavator from a nearby mine was allegedly used to close the tunnel.

“I don’t know who authorised the exercise but no assessment was done to really confirm that there were no more bodies in the tunnel. I don’t even know who these people are and they won’t entertain any questions. There were three people that I know that were buried in there but from what I have been told only one body was removed. Nobody approached me as the councillor to inform me that there was to be such an exercise carried out,” said Clr Ngwendu.

Sunday News could not establish who gave the nod for he tunnel be covered up but a panner at the scene said it was done through a collective effort by a nearby mine.

Heavy police presence was witnessed at the disused mine, in an effort to ward off any other illegal panners from entering the tunnel.

Some panners milling around the mine said the panners who died were probably also leaders of the gangs.

“These guys were the ones leading various packs. If you guys were here you would have seen the weapons the police retrieved from the tunnel, after they removed their bodies,” said a panner.

According to our sister paper, Chronicle, rescue workers had by Friday retrieved five bodies and were working on retrieving three more whose legs were sticking out following the collapse of the tunnel.

Illegal panners said they suspected 15 or more panners were trapped underground following the collapse of the tunnel.

On Wednesday, it was reported that about 300 illegal panners had swarmed the mine.

Another panner died last week after another tunnel collapsed but this has not deterred the panners who continue to enter the tunnels despite the fact that they are now death traps.

The other three panners who were working together with the panner, who died last week, were buried up to their necks in sand but were later rescued.

Clr Ngwendu said police were called in to quell the running battles at the disused mine when tragedy struck.