By Kudakwashe Pembere
ONLY one body has been retrieved while six others also feared dead are still trapped underground following an accident at Bucks Mine in Colleen Bawn near Gwanda Town where a rope they were using to bring themselves up from underground snapped last Friday.
Raising the issue in Parliament on Tuesday, Matebeleland South proportional represenation legislator Honorable Sipho Mokone (MDC Alliance) said being recovered are just body pieces from underground.
“Thank you Hon. Speaker, good afternoon. Hon. Speaker. Seven miners are dead in Matabeleland South in Colleen Bawn area close to Gwanda Town.
These miners improvised the rope to use to go underground because they had no machinery to use and the rope broke off. Mr. Speaker Sir, this incident happened on Friday and today it is Tuesday, only one body has been retrieved.
“Six of them are still underground and from the information that I got, they are getting pieces of bodies from underground as they are trying to rescue them,” she said.
The seven miners died after hoisting ropes to a skip bringing them up the shaft from underground snapped, plunging them back on a free-fall of about 200 metres. Hon Mokone bemoaned the repeated occurences of deaths in mines.
Last year, there was an accident at Kuvimba Mining-owned Elvington Mine in Chegutu where two bodies were retrieved, while in 2020 at Task Mine two bodies of the five artisanal miners who were September trapped underground when a Chegutu mine shaft collapsed, were finally retrieved Saturday.
“Mr. Speaker Sir, this is worrisome because across the country, we continue to witness such tragedies because it is not only in Matabeleland South but it is across the country. My prayer through you Mr. Speaker, is that we get a Ministerial Statement as far as the safety of the miners is concerned.
Secondly, we get a Ministerial Statement as far as the preparedness of the Ministry is concerned when such tragedies happen because I am taking note that it happened on Friday and today is Tuesday.
In that regard Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to thank you,” she said.
The miners who had just finished a shift had been trapped underground from around 5pm on Saturday.
An official from the Ministry of Mines who preferred anonymity told The Chronicle last week the seven men were being pulled out a 200-metre-deep shaft in a cage when a rope snapped and the cage plunged into the shaft.
The official said a rescue team was in the process of draining water from the shaft to get to the trapped miners.
“A team from the office is on the ground as well as a rescue team from Vumbachikwe Mine.
“For now, the team is trying to drain water out of the shaft. We fear that there might also be mud which will mean that we will have to scoop out the mud as well.
“This incident can be linked to negligence because first of all seven men were not supposed to be in that cage at once because it has a low carrying capacity. The rope was also weak to carry the cage,” he said.
“The guys were riding on a 1-ton size cocopan (ingorovane), up a vertical shaft slung on a wire rope which snapped towards the surface and they were plunged with the cocopan towards the shaft bottom, shaft has water and mud unknown depth at the bottom.”
Curious villagers were gathered around the mine as they waited for news on the miners.
One of the villagers, Mr Thando Sibanda said they heard of the accident at the gold mine and had been anxiously waiting for updates.
“Information has been coming in dribs and drabs so we don’t really know what’s happening. It’s very unfortunate that this befell these miners.
“We just heard that the ropes that were bringing up the shaft broke and they fell back into the mine. We’re just sitting here waiting for more information,” said Mr Sibanda.
Zimbabwe has been experiencing a surge in mine accidents lately, with most attributed to careless workmanship in the artisanal and small-scale mining industry.
