Zimbabwe fears scores of miners still trapped
Rescue workers retrieved 24 bodies and eight survivors on Saturday from two flooded gold mines in Zimbabwe where officials fear dozens more illegal miners are still trapped, state television reported.
“Eight of the trapped miners have been rescued while 24 bodies have been retrieved to date as rescue efforts continue at Battlefields Mine,” the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation reported. The two disused mines are situated near the town of Kadoma, 145km southwest of Harare.
The rescued received medical attention on site before being taken to hospital, but were in a stable condition, the report said.
Television footage showed some of the men, in soaked, muddy clothes, being helped to a makeshift clinic.
In a clip posted on Twitter, one survivor told journalists the waters had risen to neck level, forcing them to stand for days until it receded.
On Friday the government said between 60 and 70 artisanal miners were trapped in two shafts.
It launched an appeal for $200,000 to be used “to pump out water, feeding the bereaved families and the [rescue] teams on the ground, transportation and burial of the victims”, local minister July Moyo said.
“Given the magnitude of this disaster, we kindly appeal to individuals, development partners and the corporate world for assistance in cash and kind,” the minister said.
Zimbabwe is in the throes of a deep economic crisis, the worst in a decade. Annual inflation shot to 56.9%, up from 42.09% in December 2018, according to official statistics released on Friday, the highest increase in a decade.
Economists say that in reality prices have gone up more than threefold in recent months.
Formal unemployment is estimated at over 90% and artisanal gold mining, mostly in mines long abandoned by big
WE KINDLY APPEAL TO INDIVIDUALS, DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS AND THE CORPORATE WORLD FOR ASSISTANCE IN CASH AND KIND
corporates, is widespread, providing a source of income for many. Artisanal mining is not banned outright in Zimbabwe and is largely unregulated.