Chimoio (Mozambique), 16 Jan (AIM) – At least four people have been seriously injured as a result of a gold mine collapse in the Amatongas Socel region, in Gondola district, in the central Mozambican province of Manica.
The tragedy, which took place on Wednesday morning, involved a group of illegal miners who were extracting gold.
According to Mário Paúnde, head of the Amatongas Socel administrative post, speaking to AIM, the incident occurred when a group of miners were underground. Although it was recorded that only four people were injured, the authorities fear there may be fatalities among the miners still missing.
“At that moment, the miners saw part of the ground collapse. Some of those who were in the mine managed to get out and the rest, an unknown number, are still in the hole where they were mining. According to reports from the miners themselves, there are still other people inside the mine”, Paúnde said.
He said that so far it is difficult to specify the number of victims “but when we arrived we found four injured people who were immediately taken to a health centre. However, work is underway so that we have more information and the real number of victims buried and whether there have been any deaths.
Manica province is rich in minerals, especially gold, which is exploited on a large scale in Manica district, as well as Macossa, Báruè, Sussundenga and Gondola.
(AIM)
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