adminThe incident occurred at Berwick Mine at Big Ben Farm.
The two were identified as Mkhululi Dube (21) of Sipho Dube homestead, village head Dibha Ncube, under Chief Mathema in Gwanda, and Njabulo Ndlovu (26) of Mathayi Ndlovu homestead, village head Tshakaza Sithole, under Chief Nyangazonke in Kezi.
Matabeleland South provincial acting spokesperson Sergeant Loveness Mangena said help for the two men came late since they were some metres underground.
“The incident occurred on 21 July around 4.30pm when the two were at their workplace at Berwick Mine panning for gold with their workmates. They got into a mine shaft which is about 10 metres deep and started digging for gold,” said Sgt Mangena.
“As they were busy doing so, the mine shaft collapsed and buried them underground. Their workmates tried to rescue them but when they managed to remove them, they were already dead.”
The matter was reported to the police who then attended to the scene. Sgt Mangena said the bodies were taken to Gwanda Provincial Hospital and then to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for a post-mortem.
“To all those illegally panning for gold we urge them to desist from such activities and to those who have registered mines, they must consider the safety of their workers first before engaging in mining,” she said.
Online Reporter