Illegal miner ‘vanishes’ in 60m shaft

mine shaft

Auxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
An illegal miner who was last seen going down a 60 metre disused mine shaft on Tuesday at Kerry Mine in Hope Fountain on the outskirts of Bulawayo is feared dead.

Nkosilathi Maphosa, 34, was last seen by a friend as they went down the shaft and has been missing since then.

Searches by villagers and the police had by yesterday yielded nothing.

The police, villagers and officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development were yesterday still searching for Maphosa.

Sources said Maphosa and a friend, who was not immediately identified,  went down the mine shaft at around 3PM on Tuesday.

“Maphosa’s friend who was probably working on the other side of the shaft, left the shaft without checking on his colleague. The following day he went to Maphosa’s place of residence looking for him and was told that he had not returned home,” said the source.

Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednico Ncube said Maphosa is suspected to have died in the shaft.  “We received a report of suspected sudden death by drowning in a mine shaft,” said Assistant Inspector Ncube.

Asst Insp Ncube warned members of the public against prospecting for minerals in disused mines.

Last year, a panner died, while 12 others cheated death when a shaft they were operating from at a disused mine collapsed at Ellsemere Farm in Silobela.

The panners were trapped for two days before they were rescued.

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