Mazowe South legislator Fortune Chasi has called on the public to refrain from speculating and spreading falsehoods on the SAS Mine Lowerdale explosions that claimed eight lives last week.
The blasts that killed two locals and six Chinese nationals a fortnight ago occurred over two consecutive days and are believed to have been caused by oxygen tank bursts.
Addressing journalists, Chasi implored people to await a report that will emanate from the ongoing probe.
“It is premature to try and cast blame on anybody, the authorities whom I met at the scene after the incident are still busy compiling their report so it would be improper and extremely unfair to begin to apportion blame on anybody,” said Chasi.
Sections of the media and online platforms have been awash with several versions of the story with a significant number blaming the Chinese miners for recklessness leading to both accidents.
However, in a statement, the management of Labenmon Investments -which owns SAS, said the company was “corporating fully with the relevant investigation” to ascertain the actual cause.
“The investigation has been launched into the event leading to the explosion, the company is corporating fully with the relevant investigation,” read the statement.
“We urge the media and the public at large to desist from embellishing and dramatizing the circumstances of the explosion in a manner that is not only disrespectful to the memory of the deceased but is also insensitive to the pain and suffering of the deceased’s families.”
Meanwhile, operations at the mine, which employs 280 workers, have been halted pending the results of the investigations.
“We are also concerned because we are a company and need to operate therefore for us to resume operations we need to get to the bottom of the issue to know what was the real cause so that we try and make sure we do not have the same situation in the near future,” said the Public Relations manager Daniel Mlalazi, adding:
“We have made assistance to the bereaved families for the burial of our workers, so far the locals have been buried and as a company, we offered assistance to make sure that the families are not burdened by this tragedy.”
