On September 30, Zimbabwean authorities said the death toll in the September 29 gold mine collapse in the country had risen to at least nine people.
Speaking to reporters, President of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, Henrietta Rushwaya, said that four bodies had been brought to the surface and five others were still buried in the rubble. Search and rescue efforts are currently facing many difficulties as many areas of the mine continue to collapse.
The accident occurred at the Bay Horse mine in Chegutu, about 120 km west of the capital Harare.
Zimbabwe's Mines Minister Soda Zhemu visited the scene to oversee the rescue operation and confirmed that 21 miners had been rescued and three were still missing.
The southern African nation has vast reserves of platinum, diamonds, gold, coal and copper. As the economy falters, illegal mining is rampant and often unsafe. In February 2019, 24 miners died when an abandoned mine flooded after torrential rains in central Zimbabwe.
According to Tin Tuc newspaper