Rescuers dug through sludge and rock on Monday in their search for dozens of miners trapped for three days in northern Tanzania, police said, as hopes dwindled of finding any survivors.
Rescue teams retrieved a seventh body and were struggling to reach others traced underground in flooded mines in a tanzanite concession in Mirerani, near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Heavy rains triggered the floods in the gem mines early on Saturday.
”Teams have found an area where at least 10 more bodies are trapped between rocks. They are now scooping sand and mud to release the bodies,” said police Commissioner Venance Tossi, who was commanding the operation.
Mine owners ruled out the chances of finding any survivors.
”There are 66 miners missing and still trapped underground in the pits,” said state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) radio, quoting the owners.
”There is no hope of finding anybody alive because it is their third day underground,” it said.
One of the owners, Mike Temi, confirmed 66 people were missing as of Monday morning.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, due to travel to the disaster area, said he was ”shocked” to hear of the accident and the growing death toll.
Officials gave diverging counts of the number of miners who escaped or were rescued from the pits, where thousands dig to find the precious purple-blue mineral named after the country.
State Radio, quoting owners, said 93 people close to the surface escaped the flooding. Other officials said 35 escaped.
Philip Marmo, state minister at the prime minister’s office in charge of disaster response, said the government had approached the army for assistance with the rescue effort.
Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda said 250-million shillings ($250 000) had been allocated and 80 additional rescuers hired to bolster the operation.
Relatives of those missing gathered at the mine but held out little hope of anyone being brought out alive.
”My husband is still down there. There are also two brothers-in-law of mine. All I want is to find their bodies,” said Rosa Manka, a young woman, sobbing as two aunts supported her.
In June 2002, at least 39 tanzanite miners died after inhaling carbon monoxide produced from a dynamite explosion, one of the many fatal accidents linked to mining in Tanzania.
Tanzanite, a purple-blue shimmering stone, has been found only in northern Tanzania and in 2005 a leading gemstone miner said it unearthed the world’s largest tanzanite stone weighing about 3kg.
The lure of the gem has drawn thousands of miners to Mirerani, which resembles a gold-rush town dotted with brothels, bars and hardware stores supplying the miners.
Small-scale miners such as those affected by the latest disaster only get food rations from their employers and are paid only if they hit tanzanite. Some of them work months without pay.
Many dig in highly unsafe and unstable mines using primitive tools and garden implements.
Tanzanite is believed to be limited to East Africa’s Rift Valley region and the pits where the accident happened are located in the heart of Maasai land, a short distance from Mount Kilimanjaro.
The gemstone was discovered by Maasai tribesmen in 1967 and gained fame when it was launched by New York’s Tiffany the following year. — AFP
