TWELVE people are feared dead after a shaft collapsed at Eldorado Mine in Chinhoyi on Monday night.
BY NUNURAI JENA
One of the survivors from Kadoma, who only identified himself as Tinashe, said more than 20 people were trapped in the mine.
“We were many, numbering more than 20 artisanal miners when the shaft collapsed and many were trapped, but the two of us managed to escape,” Tinashe said.
Mashonaland West police spokesperson Inspector Clemence Mabgweazara confirmed the accident, adding that authoritative sources had confirmed that 12 people were trapped.
“The numbers of people trapped dead or alive might differ, but what is indisputable is that the mine collapsed and some people are feared dead,” Mabgweazara said.
Mabgweazara said police were in the process of rescuing those reported to have been trapped in the mine.
In June, the police clashed with artisanal miners at the mine, whose ownership is disputed, leaving a trail of destruction and injuring women and children in the process. Chinhoyi police, who were accused of running a gold syndicate at the mine, threw teargas at women and children in an effort to smoke out the miners from their living quarters.
