Family members give up on rescue efforts at Battlefields disaster

Two families with members suspected to be still trapped at Cricket 3 Mine at Battlefields are considering throwing in the towel after rescue efforts are not yielding results for close to a month now.

The two bodies still trapped are reported to be the only ones left underground after government rescued 8 artisanal miners and retrieved 26 bodies since the past two weeks in the national disaster caused by flush floods last month.

One of the relatives who pleaded for anonymity for fear of victimisation from the family members said they were grateful of government’s efforts to assist retrieve their relatives, but time and resources were being lost for no reason as rescuers are failing to locate the bodies underground.

“I think by Sunday if the bodies are not retrieved government should declare a mass grave. It was our wish to afford our beloved one a decent burial like what the rest of other families did, but the situation is now unbearable,” said the family member.