DAR ES SALAAM - At least 20 people were killed in northwest Tanzania when the walls of a small gold mine collapsed, burying workers inside.
DAR ES SALAAM - At least 20 people were killed in northwest Tanzania when the walls of a small gold mine collapsed, burying workers inside.
Local media reports said the accident happened on Sunday in Geita, Mwanza region, when the 100-metre deep pit they were working in was flooded by a heavy seasonal downpour. Some local media said more than 30 people might have been killed.
"I know there is no hope of finding anybody alive," Kelega Chacha, a miner who left the site just before the disaster, told the private daily Guardian newspaper.
Tanzania is Africa's third largest gold producer, with most of its output coming from big mines run by international firms.
But fatal accidents are common at the country's other small-scale operations, which often lack basic safety equipment. More than 45 people were killed in the north last year when gemstone pits flooded. A similar number suffocated in 2002 when a compressor used to pump clean air into another gemstone mine malfunctioned. - Reuters
GOLD MINERS PERISH
DAR ES SALAAM - At least 20 people were killed in northwest Tanzania when the walls of a small gold mine collapsed, burying workers inside.
DAR ES SALAAM - At least 20 people were killed in northwest Tanzania when the walls of a small gold mine collapsed, burying workers inside.
Local media reports said the accident happened on Sunday in Geita, Mwanza region, when the 100-metre deep pit they were working in was flooded by a heavy seasonal downpour. Some local media said more than 30 people might have been killed.
"I know there is no hope of finding anybody alive," Kelega Chacha, a miner who left the site just before the disaster, told the private daily Guardian newspaper.
Tanzania is Africa's third largest gold producer, with most of its output coming from big mines run by international firms.
But fatal accidents are common at the country's other small-scale operations, which often lack basic safety equipment. More than 45 people were killed in the north last year when gemstone pits flooded. A similar number suffocated in 2002 when a compressor used to pump clean air into another gemstone mine malfunctioned. - Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos