Maputo, 18 Feb (AIM) – At least three illegal miners have lost their lives following the collapse of a tourmaline mine in Barué district, in the central Mozambican province of Manica.
According to Manuel Silva, the Manica provincial director of Mineral Resources and Energy, two other individuals suffered minor injuries as a result of the collapse, which occurred on Saturday.
“We confirmed that there was a collapse at a tourmaline mine in the Nhampassa administrative post, in Barué district. Five illegal miners were buried for two days. We managed to rescue two and, unfortunately, three lost their lives”, Silva said, cited by the Portuguese News Agency (Lusa).
He explained that the miners were digging in an area that was invaded last Thursday by people protesting at an alleged failure by Sominha, the mining company that exploits the resource, to fulfill its social responsibility.
He added that the rescue of the illegal miners took place two days after the collapse due to a lack of resources, “and the rainy season precipitated the accident.”
“We couldn’t get the miners out in time due to a lack of resources. We didn’t have any pipes to introduce and facilitate the entry of oxygen. It was only today, with the help of a shovel, that we managed to dig them out”, he said.
This is the second mine collapse in Manica in just over a month. In January, at least four illegal miners died following a landslide at a gold mine in Gondola district. Manica province is rich in minerals, mainly gold, especially in the districts of Macossa, Manica, Barué, Sussundenga and Gondola.
(AIM)
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