Three people lost their lives whilst working in a mine shaft which also left six others with injuries at Bosso Mine, Mashava. The injuries and fatalities have been confirmed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
The Masvingo based mine had several workers underground when the unfortunate accident occured around 3 am on Saturday the 12th of April. Earlier when the unfortunate incident occured at least 25 people were feared dead, however only three have been confirmed to have died from the shaft’s collapse.
The ZRP has announced that all injured bodies were quickly taken to Masvingo General Hospital where they are receiving treatment. Post mortem on the deceased bodies is also being done at the same hospital.
Details of the deceased workers will be released in due course after all necessary procedures of identity and notifying the next of kins is completed.
As a result of this incident several activists and interested parties have called on for sttrict enforcement of safety practices in mining areas as health and lives of workers matters.
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has released a statement expressing sadness and outrage due to the tragic mine shaft collapse.
CNRG has said that as this was not an isolated incident in Zimbabwe, the country’s mining sector had weak regulatory enforcement which was being driven by profit making only leading to negligence.
The organization has called upon the Zimbabwean government to audit all mining concessions, enforce occupational safety standards and launch immediate transparent investigation in this recent incident.
