About 9 miners have been rescued from the Silvermoon and Cricket Mines in Kadoma which were hit by a flood, leaving about 60 to 70 miners trapped underground for nearly 4 days.
The tragic event has been declared a national disaster by the government.
The site is still a flurry of activity with several big mining companies assisting to pump out the water which flooded the mines in a bid to save more lives and recover casualties.
24 bodies retrieved
24 bodies have been retrieved from the Battlefields Mine disaster as rescue operations continue to search for survivors.
They have laboured for 24 hours and the fatigue is showing but they are racing against time as their colleagues are trapped precariously in the waters below these shafts.
They worry about the fate of their colleagues many of whom they barely said goodbye less than 96 hours ago.
Their hope has, however, been dealt a major blow after 24 bodies were confirmed drowned casting a deep sense of sorrow on this community.
Hope had been revived by the eight individuals who came out alive in the morning rescue, but that has fast faded into a boulevard of broken expectations on news of the 24 recovered bodies, and there could be more, as rescue operations have been halted due to rising water levels.
Search teams continued work above ground despite the setback, but the relentless water flows are proving treacherous, prompting more pleas for help.
Silently friends and relatives are sending prayers, all in the hope of seeing their loved ones walking out alive.
Kadoma mine flood disaster survivor recounts the horror
One of the 8 survivors of the Kadoma flood mine disaster has given a chilling account of the disaster which saw him and several other miners trapped underground for 4 days after water from a broken dam wall flooded the shafts.
The clearly shaken young man said he wasn’t expecting to make it alive through the terrible ordeal as the water levels were so high up to their necks.
They managed to survive for four days immersed in water with no food, no sleep and limited air supply in what has been perceived by many to be nothing short of a miracle.
The police are hoping to rescue more miners and the nation is hoping that some of them made it through the tragic ordeal which has been declared a national disaster by the government.
agencies
