Carbon monoxide kills three miners in Manica

Chimoio (Mozambique), 16 Jan (AIM) – Three informal miners lost their lives on Thursday at the “Seis Carros” (“six cars”) gold mine, located in Vanduzi district, in the central Mozambican province of Manica, as a result of asphyxiation caused by carbon monoxide.

They inhaled the fatal gas while sleeping inside a makeshift hut, where there was a lit stove and a power generator running.

According to Rezik Aly Setimane, one of the eyewitnesses, interviewed by AIM, the victims are two Mozambicans and a South African national.

“The fire had been lit to keep them warm during the cold rainy night”, he said. “They lit a fire during the night and ended up falling asleep. The hut is made of plastic and we believe they inhaled carbon monoxide, which caused their death. We think they died from lack of oxygen”.

Setimane said there were “four people inside the hut. One was rescued and taken to Vanduzi District Hospital. Two of the fatalities are from Zambezia province and the other is a South African citizen living in Maputo.”

In recent days, there have been repeated reports of deaths of artisanal miners at the Seis Carros mine. Last week, five people lost their lives and three were injured following the collapse of a mine shaft. Two days later, rescue teams located three more bodies inside another shaft, bringing the number of victims to eight, including five fatalities and three injured.
(AIM)
NM/Ad/pf (245)