The 15 miners who were trapped underground at Redwing Gold Mine in Penhalonga from the collapsed mine shaft have been confirmed to be alive
The 15 individuals were feared dead following a collapse of one of its mineshafts. However, after a successful rescue operation, all 15 miners are reportedly alive and well.
In an interview, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Soda Zhemu revealed that so far 4 miners have successfully been rescued. The rescued miners confirmed that the remaining 11 miners were all alive. Rescue efforts are currently underway and still in full swing to rescue the remaining miners still trapped in a mine shaft.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development which is leading a team of experts, including Metallon Gold and Freda Rebecca Gold Mine of Bindura have intensified the rescue efforts.
The Redwing Gold mine incident happened on Thursday between 5 and 6 a.m. when the mineshaft collapsed, trapping multiple gold miners below ground.
The miners are believed to be trapped approximately 20 meters below ground. Minister Zhemu mentioned that the mine shaft collapsed due to an earth tremor, whose origin is still under investigation. The trapped miners are suspected to have entered the mine through different shafts.
The rescue operation, initiated by Metallon Gold at Redwing Mine in collaboration with inspectors from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development’s Provincial Office, was hampered by the unstable ground. The rescue team had to withdraw after noticing that the ground was still curving in.
A subsequent attempt revealed further collapse, with visible cracks on the surface and subsidence around the mine. Metallon, the company overseeing the mine, expressed confidence that it could carry out the rescue mission on its own.
Complicating the situation, additional cracks surfaced, and subsidence continued, indicating that the miners may have mined out support pillars.
Source iHarare.com
