Hopes fade for Tanzanian miners
Hopes fade for Tanzanian miners. Al Jazeera. 3/30/2008.
Hopes are fading for dozens of miners trapped by floods in a pit in northern Tanzania, with the rescue operation being criticised as inadequate.
Hopes are fading for dozens of miners trapped by floods in a pit in northern Tanzania, with the rescue operation being criticised as inadequate.
Six
bodies have been recovered from the tanzanite mine in Mirerani, which
lies close to the city of Arusha, since the accident occurred early on
Saturday.
Henry
Shekifu, a regional commissioner, said: "In total, around 100 people
were affected by the flooding, and 35 managed to get out alive."
He said 59 people were still unaccounted for.
Another official had said on Saturday that more than 80 miners might be missing.
Rescue attempt criticised
Some of the miners jeered at a government official who addressed them near the entrance to the pit.
"You come with Land Cruisers [utility vehicles] instead of machines to help us pull out colleagues," one miner said.
Rescuers and miners had very little equipment at their disposal in their attempt to reach those trapped underground.
Poor weather
conditions further complicated efforts to rescue the men. Tanzanite
One, a South African company which is operating a neighbouring pit,
offered equipment to pump out flood water and dig a path towards the
miners.
Some miners and families have lost hope that the men will be found alive.
Rosa Manka, who was
at the pit with her two aunts, said: "My husband is still down there.
There are also two brothers-in-law of mine. All I want is to find their
bodies."
Unique mineral
Tanzanite, a purple-blue shimmering stone, has only been found in northern Tanzania.
Many workers in Mirerani only receive food rations from their employers and are paid only if they hit tanzanite.
Tanzania's mining
sector has expanded rapidly over the past decade after it underwent a
process of economic liberalisation in the mid-1980s.
The country is the
Africa's third-largest gold producer after South Africa and Ghana and
is also rich in diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires.
The mining sector
contributes less than three per cent of the nation's GDP, but the rate
should reach 10 per cent by 2025, according to a development plan
outlined by the government.
