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Tanzania: Mererani - Recovery of Bodies Drags On
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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
28 April 2008
Posted to the web 28 April 2008
Zephania Ubwani
Arusha
A month after rainwater flooded some tanzanite mines in Mererani, killing over 70 people, work to retrieves bodies still drags on.
Rescuers and other volunteers have not been able to retrieve all bodies despite working virtually around the clock since tragedy struck.
A participant at the rescue site in the area, 60 kilometres south east of Arusha, told The Citizen late yesterday that at least 17 bodies had yet to be recovered from the pits.
Nine of the bodies were still trapped inside Gemstone Resources mine, which had 26 miners working inside it when heavy rains flooded the shaft on March 28. Papa King Sambeke, an Arusha businessman who also runs a popular entertainment centre, owns the pit.
Rescuers said that 57 bodies had been retrieved so far, adding that some of the bodies could not be identified and were buried in common graves.
Police sources say 74 small-scale miners were working underground after they had registered at the gates of the mines before entering the deep shafts.
Manyara regional commissioner Henry Shekiffu said on Saturday that the recovery exercise would be extended for a week.
He added that no body would be left buried underground as the exercise was expected to be speeded up following a lull in the current rainy season.
Mr Abdallah Mbaruku, a mine manager involved in the rescue efforts, said recovery had been slowed down by heavy rains.
"In the first few days, we managed to drain the pits using special pumps and pull out some bodies. However, the exercise was brought to a standstill after the pits were filled again with water," he said.
A regional official said yesterday that tanzanite mining has not resumed at the disaster site. Much effort was now concentrated on draining and disinfecting the pits in which the miners drowned, he said.
President Jakaya Kikwete visited the site on March 31 and directed that all bodies be retrieved and given a decent burial.
However, rescues said work at the site was still difficult because of poor ventilation and the narrow shafts which made it difficult to pull out bloated bodies.
This is the third major accident at the Mererani mines, to happen in ten years. Between 80 and 100 miners perished in 1998 after the mines were flooded at the height of the El Nino rains.
In 2002, about 40 others were killed when a machine pumping in oxygen failed.
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The Government has come under heavy criticism following poor response to the tragedy and lack of rescue equipment.
The Government and Tanzaniteone should be held completely responsible for this tradgey.....their corruption has allowed this to happen...2005 saw a man offer to give his time and expertise for free to help get these mines mined in the correct manner to prevent such a thing and for this he was beaten by the police PIed and sent packing because Tanzanitone one wants a monopoly. As long as the Ministry of Mines continues to allow poor mining practice without safety this will happen time and time again....There is plenty for all but the Greedy want it all......
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