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Rutendo Nyeve and Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporters
TWO illegal gold miners died while five more are feared dead after they were trapped underground when a shaft in which they were illegally mining gold collapsed and buried them.

The incident occurred in the early hours of yesterday at Interfah Mine also known as Success Mine in Matobo District,  Matabeleland South Province.

Illegal miners invaded the area after news broke that rich gold deposits had been discovered at the mine.

When a Chronicle news crew arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon, a sombre atmosphere had engulfed the area as scores of gold miners from surrounding mines  gathered at Interfah Mine to watch an excavator digging for the bodies.

The news crew witnessed the two bodies being retrieved from underground and rescue teams continued with efforts to rescue those still trapped in the pit.

Contrary to the rowdy behaviour synonymous with gold panners, the exhumation of the two bodies presented a spirit of brotherhood as they volunteered to carry the bodies of their departed colleagues.

“These are our brothers, we might not know them, but by virtue of them being gold panners it means they are our brothers,” said one panner.

The director of the mine Mr Philani Ncube said the trapped gold panners had illegally entered the mine.

“This is our mine and we had not commenced operations as we are in the process of registering. We got reports that people were coming to illegally mine here after discovering gold deposits using detectors,” he said.

“We then engaged the police from Matobo and they deployed the anti-riot police from their Support Unit who came and dispersed them. The gold panners who were trapped in the mine shaft came at night to illegally mine and unfortunately, the shaft collapsed on them.”

At the time of going for print, police were still conducting their investigations. Police officers who attended the scene took the two bodies to the mortuary.

While the number of the miners that are suspected to have been inside the pit could not be confirmed, reports say five could be still trapped inside.

The district development coordinator for Matobo, who is also the head of the district civil protection unit, Mr Obey Chaputsira said the police had informed them about the disaster.

He said two bodies had been retrieved by evening.
Mr Chaputsira said miners should exercise caution considering that the country is in the rainy season when incidents of mine shaft collapses are high.

“Due to the rains that we are receiving, the land becomes unstable hence we encourage those in the mining sector to follow precautionary measures as directed by the Ministry of Mines and Mining

Development. There can be gold rushes and so forth, but miners have to adhere to safety measures,” he said.

“We can’t continue losing people due to unsafe mining procedures.”
Mr Chapuritsa extended his condolences to the families of the deceased miners.
Several mines have collapsed, trapping miners with authorities warning the public against illegal mining activities during the rainy season.

In May, seven miners at Bucks Mine in Colleen Bawn plunged to their death after hoisting ropes to a skip bringing them up a 240-metre-deep shaft snapped 15 metres from the surface. The skip they were in dragged the miners to the bottom of the shaft with first responders to the scene reportedly seeing splatters of blood on the walls of the shaft going down. Rescue workers spent over 72 hours trying to pump out water from the underground mine to retrieve the bodies of the miners who were trapped underwater.

Some of the retrieved bodies had been badly injured with skin peeling off due to prolonged exposure to water.

In October, a man died and four others survived when a mine shaft collapsed at New Parklands suburb in Bulawayo. -@nyeve14 @nqotshili