Two artisanal miners are feared dead after a mine shaft they were working in collapsed on Tuesday morning at Lumbo18 Zuze Syndicate Mine in Shamva.
National Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident saying efforts are underway to retrieve the bodies from the 15-metre-deep shaft.
“Two men Serima Luckson and another one who is yet to be identified are believed to have been trapped and buried in a collapsed mine in Shamva in a mishap that occurred on February 24 at around 0300hrs. The two men were seen entering the mine three hours earlier by a security guard,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.
“The shaft which is about 15 meters deep collapsed and the two were trapped. Police and officials from the Ministries of Mines and Mining Development are carrying out efforts to retrieve the bodies of the two,” he said.
Cases of miners being trapped in mine shafts have been on the increase with many of them affecting illegal gold miners. Earlier this month, two illegal miners died and two others were injured, while more than 20 others were trapped underground after a tunnel at Globe and Phoenix Mine in Kwekwe collapsed.
