Five people died instantly in Mirerani mining hills, with the sixth lying in critical condition at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) after the quarry they were working in collapsed.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, July 7, 2013 before sunrise at the Mirerani hills in the Simanjiro District of Manyara where six people were reportedly carrying on with mining activities in the Tanzanite quarry belonging to Mr Onesmo Mbise, an Arusha-based, mineral dealer.

The Manyara Regional Police Commander, Mr Akili Mpwapwa confirmed the incident, admitting that it was normal for most quarry workers to operate during the night in Mirerani. He added that, the police were however still investigating the matter.

The Manyara RPC also confirmed the deaths of five miners identified as Mr Jackson Kavishe, Mr Noel Kilwa-Kitui, Mr Emmanuel John, Mr Godlove Zebhlon and Mr Emmanuel Joshua who as far as reports go, all died on the spot when the quarry caved in.

The sixth miner, according to Mr Mpwapwa is Mr Siphael Simba who was found alive when a rescue team went round to the quarry which is registered under the 'Fanon Mining Company Limited,' where the incident occurred. Mr Simba was rushed to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi where he was still fighting for his life as we went to press.

Fellow miners in Mirerani say, working at night was usually preferred because quarry workers liked to escape the day heat which could be very intense in the drought struck, Mirerani area.

Cases of mining quarries caving onto workers are common in Mirerani with the worst incident recorded in 1998 and 2008 when more than 100 miners were killed at each disaster.

However in the above cases, the quarry landslides occurred in the months of March and April during heavy rains season and the caving-in of the pits were reported to be the results of heavy downpour.