8 miners safe, dozens missing

Eight miners have been rescued from two flooded shafts west of Harare, according to officials, although dozens more miners are still missing and feared dead.

“So far, we have managed to bring out eight miners alive and we are yet to assess and find any more people down there who are still alive,” Tapererwa Paswavaviri, the government deputy chief mining engineer told reporters on Saturday at the accident scene.

The rescued miners, who were covered in mud, were whisked away by officials, while rescuers briefly stopped operations due to rain.

Rescue workers retrieved the bodies of at least 24 miners on Saturday and dozens more are still missing.

The government said on Friday between 60 to 70 “artisanal” miners were in the two shafts when these were flooded after a dam burst its banks following heavy rain on Tuesday.

The accident in Battlefields, 175km west of the capital, has shone a light on the dangers facing artisanal gold miners.

A study by parliament showed that small-scale miners may have contributed more than half of the gold Zimbabwe produced in 2017. – News24