A twenty-nine-year-old Bulawayo man died when a 10-metre deep mine shaft collapsed in Woodville Park on Friday.
The man, MacDonald Mhunga and his unnamed colleagues were panning for gold when he got trapped under rubble.
His colleagues failed to rescue him and called the fire brigade which started a rescue operation started on the same day at about 4 pm.
The operation was stopped at around 7 pm due to bad lighting and Mhunga’s body was retrieved at 2 pm on Saturday.
Bulawayo police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube, confirmed the incident and urged members of the public to desist from illegal mining activities. Insp Ncube said:
Members of the public should find better ways of making money because in this case the mine was already abandoned which is a clear sign that the authorities had already seen the level of harm that place has.
He said illegal mining is an offence and continues to take many lives in Zimbabwe every year.
Scores of miners have died since the beginning of the current rain season with the tragedies attributed to shaky grounds and the underdevelopment of some local mines.
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