At least seven dead and several dozen missing in a copper mine in Zambia. Illegal workers were digging at the Seseli site, in the town of Chingola, 400 km north of the capital Lusaka, when illegal miners were buried. The search continues to find at least twenty people, but hopes are slim.
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Rescuers are on site trying to save illegal miners buried since part of the site collapsed Thursday evening. According to the police, the events occurred between 9 and 10 p.m. Heavy rains led to a landslide that engulfed the illegal workers digging at this site in three different tunnels.
A so-called “open-air” mining area, used when the desired minerals are found relatively close to the surface. The searches had intensified since Friday with the reinforcement of private companies which had made machines available to facilitate the searches, in particular to pump the water.
But the hopes of finding survivors now seem almost zero. Authorities believe the missing miners are presumed dead and the job now is to recover the remains. However, the results still remain uncertain since we do not know exactly how many people were illegally mining the mine at the time of the disaster.
A tragedy which is not isolated in this major copper-producing region where illegal mining is common.