CHEGUTU – Six miners died Friday after a ground collapse at Bay Horse mine in the Chakari area of Chegutu, some 100 kilometres west of Harare.
State television said six bodies had been retrieved from the 150 meters deep mine by Friday night, while another 15 miners were still trapped underground with rescue efforts were underway.
The mine collapsed around 8AM on Friday, trapping 34 miners underground.
Although 13 miners managed to escape, 21 had remained trapped underground, according to state media.
Earlier, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation reported in a statement that up to 42 miners had been trapped.
“There has been a collapse of a mine shaft at one of our ZMF members’ mine,” said the miners group in the statement.
“It is believed that about 42 people are still trapped underground and 5 have been rescued so far.
“We have since tasked our ZMF secretary general and Chegutu Miners Association chairman to go and establish the true facts on the ground and we shall keep you upraised of the rescue operations by the relevant teams.”
ZMF urged public patience adding, “wait for all official communication to come from ZRP, Ministry of Mines and other government arms”.
The mine is not too far from Cricket Mine in Battlefields, Mashonaland West, the scene of a tragic 2019 mine accident in which 23 illegal gold miners died after an avalanche of water caused by a dam wall burst suddenly flooded two interlinked shafts and tunnels in which they were, entrapping them inside.
One of the mines is owned by mining company RioZim, which, coincidentally is also owner of a Cessna 206 plane which crashed in the Zvamahande area near Mashava, Masvingo province Friday morning killing all six people on board.
