CHEGUTU — A 23-year-old Chegutu gold miner was killed over the weekend after a shaft at Jolly Miller 7 Mine collapsed and trapped him underground, police said yesterday.
Own Correspondent
Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson Inspector Clemence Mabgweazara identified the deceased as 23-year-old Bernard Chikolo.
According to police, the accident happened on Saturday soon after Chikolo had entered the mineshaft while his co-workers Takesure Tembo (32), Stewen Mukambi (62) and Luckmore Chirokoto (33) stood outside.
“The now deceased entered the shaft, which was about three metres deep, when suddenly rubble fell and trapped him underground,” said Mabgweazara, adding his colleagues managed to retrieve him from the collapsed shaft.
Chikolo died on admission at Chegutu District Hospital after sustaining serious head injuries.
The incident comes a week after another accident killed an illegal gold panner and left seven others seriously injured under similar circumstances near Chegutu.
