Redwing Mine miners rescued

President Mnangagwa, flanked by Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga (right) and Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya (left) after an interface with Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution at State House in Harare yesterday. - Picture: Believe Nyakudjara

Mathew Masinge

GOVERNMENT has praised the work of local mining experts from Metallon Gold and Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, who helped to rescue 15 miners from the Redwing Mine in Penhalonga following a collapse caused by an earth tremor last Friday.

All of the miners, who were employed by Metallon Gold, were found alive, and few suffered minor injuries.

Mines and Mining Development Minister, Zhemu Soda, commended the team for a job well done.

The government provided the rescue teams with the necessary support, including timber and nails, and activated the Civil Protection Unit to handle the delicate situation.

“I am happy to announce to the nation that all the 15 miners were rescued and retrieved from Redwing Mine in Penhalonga where they were trapped.

“This is a sign that the rescue operations that we had intensified yielded positive results and I want to applaud the team for a job well done,” said Minister Soda. Rescue team leader Sweetman Gotora said the miners survived the horror because there was ventilation.

“We managed to reach the area where they were trapped and found them all alive, only a few sustained minor injuries.

“They managed to withstand the trap because there was ventilation underground,” said Gotora.