Families and friends of artisanal miners who were trapped underground after a mining shaft they were working on at Ran Mine in Bindura collapsed late last month have bemoaned the lack of progress in retrieving bodies of their loved ones.
More than 30 artisanal miners are feared dead inside an abandoned mining shaft at Ran Mine in Bindura.
Rescue efforts have been further hampered amid reports that the shaft is caving in.
However, relatives feel that they have been neglected and have called on the Government to give them the go ahead and retrieve their relatives.
“We have been here for the past eight days and nothing seems to be coming up. There has not been any update from the authorities. We are appealing to the government to allow us and do it for our friends since we know the tunnels,” said Terrence Mwale whose brother was trapped.
Others felt that the government is incapacitated to lead the rescue efforts since they are relying on well-wishers to provide equipment.
“The government is ill prepared as evidenced by the equipment that is here. We have had support from a Chinese national whose pump was overwhelmed. Families of those trapped have had to sit in tents without getting any psycho-social support.
“Imagine the trauma they are enduring and have had to sit since the first day and there is no information on the progress thus far. The bottom line is there is no coordination in terms of rescue efforts,” said Cleopas Marizeni a relative.
The concerns come amid reports that rescue efforts have been halted as the shaft is showing signs that it is likely to collapse further.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation chief executive officer Wellington Takavarasha said rescue operations are difficult because artisanal miners are working on disused mines which are difficult to trace.
“The unfortunate part is that artisanal miners have secret tunnels so when an accident occurs it is difficult to ascertain how many people have been affected and it becomes difficult to institute rescue operations.
“It is different from a formal set up where there are proto teams who know how to track when disaster strikes. The situation at Ran Mine is difficult because you do not know the exact location of those trapped.” said Takavarasha.
