Two children from Ngwaro Village, under Chief Mapanzure in Zvishavane, tragically drowned on Saturday while swimming in an abandoned open-pit chrome mine.
The young victims have been identified as 9-year-old Tendai Hove and her 11-year-old cousin, Leeroy Makungwe.
Village head Maxwell Moyo confirmed to <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/two-children-drown-in-an-open-pit-chrome-mine-in-a-zvishavane-village/">NewZimbabwe.com</a> that the incident occurred around 11 AM on that fateful day. He said:
<blockquote>
The children had been sent on an errand but were drawn to the mine pits left behind from the extraction activities.
We recovered their bodies around 3 PM the same day.
The other children who were with them were swimming in the shallower areas and managed to escape unharmed.
</blockquote>
Moyo said that the mine is owned by a group of local investors operating under the ZimAsset framework, with support from Chinese investors.
He said the community has been calling on the miners to fill in the pits after depleting the resource, especially since the mine is located just 800 meters from the village. Unfortunately, these pleas have gone unheeded.
A villager, who wished to remain anonymous, said there had been longstanding concerns about the potential for such an accident. The community feels increasingly powerless to address the issue, despite their fears. Said the villager:
<blockquote>
The miners leave behind these open pits that fill with water during this season, attracting children to play in them.
Mining is happening alarmingly close to our homes, and despite our complaints, nothing changes.
The issue has become too political to resolve. We are left vulnerable, and our community, as well as our livestock, are at risk from these hazardous pits.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Two children (9-year-old Tendai and 11-year-old Leeroy) drowned in a chrome mine in Zvishavane. They were playing in the mine when it happened. Other children with them escaped. The mine is owned by local and Chinese investors. The community has been asking the miners to fill in the pits for safety, but nothing has been done. Villagers are worried about more accidents happening. They feel helpless and scared. The issue is becoming political. The community and their animals are at risk because of the dangerous pits.

Two Children Drown In Abandoned Chrome Mine In Zvishavane

Two people died and three others were injured after a boulder fell into a shaft at Lilian mine in Inyathi Matabeleland North on Sunday afternoon.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson in Matabeleland North Province, Inspector Glory Banda, confirmed the incident. He said:
<blockquote>
The incident occurred on the 18th of September, it occurred around 3 O’clock, a rock fell from a height of about 130 meters and rolled down.
It trapped about six people, two of them died on the spot and out of the remaining that were still alive then, only three were injured.
</blockquote>
Insp Banda added that the bodies of the deceased were transferred to a mortuary in Bulawayo for post-mortem.
The mine manager, Lazarus Dowi told CITE’s <a href="https://cite.org.zw/two-die-in-inyathi-mineshaft-collapse/">Senzeni Ncube</a> that the employees had only been working in the mine for three days. Said Dowi:
<blockquote>
The employees had only been here for three days, two of them died on the spot while the other two were discharged from the hospital, while only one is still receiving treatment at Mpilo Hospital.
</blockquote>
This was the first time that such an incident has happened at the mine, said Dowi.

Two Die As Huge Boulder Crashes Into Mineshaft

14 miners who were trapped underground after the tunnel they were working in collapsed have all been rescued with no casualties.
The mining accident occurred at Peace Mine in Silobela on Saturday night and the miners were pulled out on Monday night after fellow miners and the community stepped in.
Rubble collapsed into the tunnel creating an approximately 20-metre barricade which barred the miners from getting out of the tunnel.
Initial reports had claimed that 12 miners had been trapped but it was later established that 14 people were rescued.
Acting Kwekwe Civil Protection Unit Chairperson, (CPU) Clemence Muduma said some of the rescued miners had been taken to hospital. Said Muduma:
<blockquote>All the miners, 14 of them are out and are safe. They have since been rescued. Some of them were taken to hospital for check-ups and were released.</blockquote>
Meanwhile, Silobela member of parliament, Mthokozisi Manoki-Mpofu called upon authorities to close the mine until ownership issues were solved.
Mining operations at the mine were controlled by the Silobela Community Ownership Trust, but since the chairperson, Arther Nkiwane died, miners have been carrying out unsanctioned mining operations.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/trapped-miners-rescued/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chronicle</a></h4>

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