daniel chigunwe
Herald Reporter
EFFORTS to recover the remaining 16 bodies of the 20 artisanal miners killed at Bay Horse mine in Chegutu almost a fortnight ago have been halted as the risk of more serious injuries and deaths among the recovery teams is now considered too high.
This will mean that the mine will become the final resting place of those whose bodies are still underground. This has happened at other mining disasters in the past, with funeral services held at the entrance shaft and the underground workings sealed off as a formal grave with further mining in or near those workings forbidden.
A group of 42 artisanal miners were working in the mine when there was a collapse a fortnight ago. Rescue workers managed to pull 22 out alive, with several badly injured, and four bodies were recovered.
Local Government and Public Works Acting Minister Daniel Garwe said on Tuesday recovery efforts were stopped after it emerged that the ground was unstable thereby threatening the lives of those involved in the recovery efforts.
Minister Garwe, who is also Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, was fielding questions from journalists after this week’s Cabinet meeting. He said the Civil Protection Unit from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works managed to retrieve four bodies of those who had died while 22 were rescued alive. Those who were rescued were getting medical attention.
Explaining the halt to the recovery effort, Minister Garwe said: “The ground is not stable. It is shaking thereby threatening the lives of the rescue and safety team.”
Experts from large-scale mines in Chegutu district were brought in by Government to help in rescuing trapped artisanal miners and recovering the bodies of those who were killed. Rescue efforts continued until there was no chance of anyone else left alive and the danger of recovering bodies of the dead became too high.
Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Marian Chombo, visited the mine last week where she addressed relatives of those whose bodies were still underground, artisanal miners and Bay Horse community members.
She said the Government had roped in big mines, including platinum giant Zimplats and Chinese ferrochrome producer Afrochine (Pvt) Ltd, to help with rescue efforts.
Minister Chombo informed the gathering, including the grieving family members, that the state was going to assist in the burial of the miners. The firms deployed experts who include electricians and mining technicians together with equipment that included diesel water pumps to deal with rising water levels in the shaft and to crack a huge boulder.
A fortnight ago, two people died at a small-scale mine located 15 kilometres along Chegutu-Chinhoyi Road.
In 2020, five miners including a Form Four student, a father and his son, lost their lives when a shaft collapsed at Task Mine in the same district. Chief Government mining engineer, Mr Michael Munodawafa, said most accidents were a result of negligence, including the removal of support pillars. Almost all fatal mining accidents arise from work by artisanal miners with the major mining companies having much higher safety standards which are enforced.
Online Reporter