The Chronicle
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Online Reporter
HEAVY rains that continue being received in Matabeleland South and other parts of the country have frustrated efforts to retrieve the body of an illegal gold panner who has been trapped in a shaft in Gwanda for a week.
The body of the illegal gold panner who is suspected to be from Kezi has been trapped in the shaft near Dubane River in Gwanda since Friday last week.
The illegal gold panner is one of two miners who died after a shaft they were working in was flooded by water and collapsed. His counterpart’s body was retrieved a day after the incident.
The pair were working in the shaft near Dubane River on Friday 10 February at around 9M with two others. The illegal gold panners took a nap in the shaft and woke up in the early hours of the following morning to find the shaft flooded.
Their counterparts Mengezi Moyo (34) and Wellington Tshuma (24) managed to escape.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Loveness Mangena said the body of the illegal gold panner had not been retrieved.
In a report Gwanda District Civil Protection Committee chairperson, Mr Thulani Moyo said the rescue mission had been declared dangerous due to heavy rains.
“The body of an illegal gold panner, which is trapped in a shaft at Dubane area is yet to be retrieved. Due to the heavy rains that have experienced for the past week the area around the shaft is saturated with water making the rescue operations extremely dangerous,” he said.
“His relatives haven’t been identified but he is suspected to be from Kezi area.”
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development Matabeleland South provincial mining director, Mr Khumbulani Mlangeni, said the rescue mission was highly risky because the area, which the illegal gold panners were working from is close to a river.
He said there was a need for an excavator as the body could not be retrieved through manual digging.
Mr Mlangeni said there was also a need for a bulldozer to clear the path for the excavator.
The illegal gold panner dug a shaft going downwards for about five metres and then dug towards the river for about four metres. [email protected]
Article Source: The Chronicle