Zambia Battling To Rescue Miners Trapped In Copper Mine Since Friday
Zambian officials have said they have been unable to locate dozens of illegal miners believed to be trapped after a mudslide at an open-cast copper mine on Friday.
The accident in Zambia’s Northern Copper Belt province occurred after heavy rains.
Rescue teams have been pumping water from the underground pits at the Sesili mine in Chingola but have not made contact with the miners.
President Hakainde Hichilema, who arrived back on Sunday from the COP28 conference in Dubai, said he was saddened by the “heartbreaking situation”.
He sent his thoughts and prayers to affected families, adding that government efforts were being directed towards the rescue efforts.
The Vice-President, Mutale Nalumango, said the incident at the Sesili mine was a “disaster”.
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Rescue efforts are continuing. Illegal mining is common in Zambia, one of the world’s largest copper producers.
Nalumango said Sunday that despite an “around the clock” emergency operation, to date the search and rescue team has not located any of the trapped miners and their condition remains unknown.
She said in a statement that the miners were trapped at three sites at Sesili, where hundreds of illegal miners search for copper.
Today and going forward, emergency rescue efforts will focus on removing mud and water from the waterlogged site and further works to facilitate access to the other two sites, Nalumango added.
Police have named seven miners they said were feared drowned but acknowledged “others” were involved.
Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu told parliament on Friday that more than 30 miners were trapped.
The vice president said the mudslide struck at 2.00 am on Friday but gave few other details.
Zambia is one of the world’s largest copper producers and Chingola is in the country’s Copperbelt Province and a hotbed of illegal open-pit mining. Deadly accidents are frequent.
The region has one of the world’s largest open-cast copper mines and some of the waste piles reach up to 100 metres (300 feet) in height.
