A 35-YEAR-OLD Mudzi gold panner died on Sunday after a mineshaft caved in, burying him alive.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
The incident happened at Geshem Mine and the now-deceased was identified as Ruramai Zisengwe of Chitangazuva village.
Mashonaland East acting provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Tendai Mwanza said Zisengwe’s colleagues only managed to retrieve the body after five hours.
“I confirm the death of a Mutoko man who fell into a five-metre deep mineshaft after its walls collapsed. The man was standing close to the shaft when the incident occurred. His colleagues had to retrieve the body after five hours when he was already dead. We urge gold panners and those who work at mineshafts to exercise maximum caution in their operations,” he said.
According to police, on the fateful day, at around 5pm, Zisengwe was standing near a deep mineshaft when the walls collapsed, resulting in him falling headlong before he was buried by the earth.
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It is reported that his colleagues Kenneth Mareya (25) and Isaac Muchasara (35) removed the earth from the shaft, until 10pm when they found their colleague already dead.
The matter was reported at Makosa Police Station while the corpse was taken to Mutoko Hospital Mortuary for post-mortem.