adminWalter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
A cloud of uncertainty has engulfed Chegutu town following reports that about six gold panners could have been trapped in a disused mine since last Saturday. Rescue efforts have so far not yielded any positive results as engineers from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and Blekeridge Mine have gone 40 metres underground without any sign of people.
Hope of finding people alive is diminishing with each passing day as people search for answers to a conundrum that has drawn mixed signals.
Officer commanding crime in Mashonaland West Assistant Commissioner Charles Chagonda, said police were still waiting for a formal report of missing persons.
“As of now we have not received a formal report of anyone saying they are missing a relative or colleague with names,” said Asst Comm Chagonda.
“We await the effort of those carrying out the excavation to try and get to the said missing persons.”
However, enquiries in the community have not led to names of people said to be missing with sources saying authorities have only been met with nicknames of the supposed missing persons.
“The fact that enquiries have not yielded real names has made the situation more complicated. This makes it difficult to authenticate the veracity of claims that there are people missing,” said a source.
However, others contend that gold panners were not willing to come forward and vouch for their colleagues fearing being arrested for illegal mining.
Blekeridge Mine, which operates as Pickstone Mine, reportedly covered mine shafts ostensibly to deter gold panners from mining in their mining claims.
However, there were people in the shaft who were reportedly not aware of what was happening outside.
Rescue efforts are said to have hit a temporary snag after hitting a water pool that needs to be pumped out.
“Pumps are being sought to draw out the water. Hope is dissipating with each passing day,” said the source.
Online Reporter