Story by Tamuka Charakupa
A dark cloud has befallen the two families of Mapinga area of Zvimba, following a mine accident which left three dead on Wednesday.
The miners reportedly inhaled poisonous gas while underground in a chrome mine.
The three artisanal miners are believed to have succumbed to exhaust fumes produced by a generator which they had taken underground to power a jackhammer to disintegrate a huge chrome ore bolder.
A relative to one of the deceased, Ellesha Chitiza said, “These guys were working through a sponsorship deal with a local miner. I was informed of the incident around 4pm when I rushed to the mine, only to find three bodies lying dead close to the entrance. I then proceeded into the shaft to check if there were other people stuck inside but couldn’t get far because I was choked and struggling to breathe due to the amount of carbon monoxide which was in the shaft. I want to believe that they had taken a generator to power a jackhammer.”
The ZBC News visited the relatives of the deceased at Kilmaqdouh Compound near Mapinga Truckstop.
Gogo Pamidzai Kaitano, who lost two sons in the tragedy, “They were taking care of me as you can see I am partially blind. They were not into mining but due to our financial circumstances until two months ago they joined the trade and that is the only way we managed to buy food and other items for the house.”
Confirming the incident, the Permanent Secretary for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mr Josphat Jaji warned artisanal miners to prioritise safety precautions while conducting their mining activities.
He said, “We are aware of this incident in which three people died in a chrome shaft mine at Mapinga. We have since alerted our Provincial, District and Civil Protection Units to respond to the tragedy. Our artisanal miners should always put safety first so that we do not record such sorrowful incidents.”
Meanwhile, the bodies of the three were taken to Banket Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.
