Chronicle Editor
Midlands Bureau
GOVERNMENT has accorded a State-assisted funeral to the six artisanal miners who died in a mine dump landslide in Kwekwe, on Thursday last week.
A funeral service for the six victims who perished at Old Homesteak Mine dump was held in Kwekwe on Sunday.
The six are; Simon Chauke, Offias Ncube, Edward Phiri, Gasiyani Banda, Marshall Mpofu and Ephraim Ncube. Fellow artisanal miners, relatives and friends of the deceased thronged a local funeral parlour where they paid their last respects before they collected their bodies for burial.
Mr Moses Ncube, a relative of Offias commended the Government for the intervention. “We are very grateful to our Government for coming to our rescue. It was a tough call as the accident just happened when we never expected,” he said.
“He was the breadwinner in the family. The loss is just too much to bear. However, I want to thank the Government for coming to our rescue. I don’t know what we could have done without this help.”
Acting director in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Mr Charlton Murove, warned miners against trying their luck at disused mines.
“I want to commend our Civil Protection Unit for the swift response. Their actions managed to save a single life and we managed to retrieve all the bodies on time.
“I just want to urge our artisanal miners to always consider their safety first before embarking on mining activities.”
Issues of safety in mining communities are topical as the country continues to lose lives, especially amongst the artisanal mining community, with Government now urging law enforcement agencies to continuously monitor such operations.
Globe and Phoenix Primary School was decommissioned after a classroom block collapsed into an underground tunnel during class, injuring some students.
A nearby house also collapsed into an underground tunnel a few days later, further raising concerns about the safety of residents in the mining town.
Online Reporter