Rutendo Chirume
BONDOLFI-A 50-year-old man from Masvingo Rural died after an illegal gold mining pit collapsed at Dinhira Mountain in Chief Charumbira’s area in the early hours of Wednesday, last week.
The deceased, Tatenda Bapiro (50), of Stanmore B Village, Hwendedzo under Chief Musara, had reportedly gone to Dinhira Mountain with Ransom Sibanda (26) of Steven Business Centre to carry out gold panning in an open pit.
Masvingo Provincial Police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed that Bapiro’s body is at Masvingo Provincial Hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination, while investigations into the incident are continuing.
“We urge members of the public seeking gold to use licensed mining claims and legally designated mining areas, illegal mining exposes people to dangerous working conditions and fatal accidents due to the absence of proper safety measures,” said Dhewa.
According to police, the pair entered the pit at around 11pm on July 15 and began panning for gold. At about 2am, the pit collapsed, trapping Bapiro and several other miners under rubble.
Fellow miners managed to rescue Bapiro while he was still alive and able to speak. However, he was pronounced dead upon arrival at a medical facility.
The Midweek Watch also spoke to Munyaradzi Zhame from Chief Charumbira area, who said he was working in a different pit at the same mining site when it also collapsed at around 2:30am.
“I was alone in my pit when it collapsed. I sustained a broken back and I am currently admitted at Masvingo Provincial Hospital,” said Zhame.
He alleged that the pit where Bapiro was trapped was the same one where miners reportedly discovered a large gold-bearing rock last week, attracting many illegal miners to the area.
Zhame further claimed that several other people were injured in the collapsed pit and alleged that four people died in total. However, police said they could only confirm Bapiro’s death and did not verify Zhame’s account of the other alleged fatalities or his own incident.
