TAWANDA HOMBA
BIKITA-A tone loading machine has crashed a Chinese owned Bikita Minerals worker to death in the wee hours of today, a Police memorandum in The Midweek possession confirms.
Nelson Musendekwa (28) of Mafuka Village under Chief Marozva was loading tantalite into tone bags with seven others when the machine fell on him and killed him instantly.
“On 21 October 2023 at around 0342 hours, whilst the deceased was operating the plant, it suddenly collapsed on him killing him instantly. The other seven who were working at the gravel packing unit together with the deceased managed to escape unhurt,” reads part of the Police report.
“Their duties amongst others were to load Petalite into tonne bags from the Gravel Packing Unit. The GPU is a structure which resembles a funnel where it is fed on top and then releases the petalite into the tonne bags at the bottom. The deceased was underneath the machine controlling the flow of petalite into the tonne bags,” further reads the report.
Musendekwa’a body was taken to Bikita Hospital for a procedural postmortem.
The scene of the accident was attended by among others, Superintended Crime, CID Minerals Flora and Fauna Unit Masvingo, CID Gutu, ZRP Bikita and Ministry of Mines and Development Masvingo Province.
