When 22-year-old Mr Rania Moyo left home at around 4am on Thursday last week for work at Velocity 36 Mine in Silobela, he never bothered to bid his parents goodbye as he believed he would return home as usual.
There was no way he could have known that one hour later he
was going to be trapped 100 metres underground for the next four days.
When he arrived at work that day, he met his workmates and
they proceeded to enter the mine shaft at around 5am. Soon after, the shaft
started collapsing and his two workmates managed to navigate through the
cave-in, to reach the entrance.
The shaft where Rania Moyo was trapped underground for four
days at Velocity 36 Mine in Silobela
They escaped right before a big boulder fell and blocked
the opening, trapping Mr Moyo inside the shaft.
“The moment l realised l was trapped underground in that
shaft, l prayed to God asking him to accept my soul in heaven because l did not
think l would come out alive,” said Mr Moyo, who was rescued on Monday
afternoon and is recovering from his home in Silobela.
“It was around 5am and we had just entered the shaft when
the mine started caving in. We immediately moved towards the entrance trying to
escape before it could get blocked,” he said.
Mr Moyo said he knew death was suddenly catching up with
him when he was trapped in the shaft in a space so small that he could not even
stretch his legs or sit up straight. He was trapped in a space so dark he could
not even see his own hands. He said temperatures also dropped and he felt like
he was going to freeze inside the shaft that Thursday morning.
“I could not even move a muscle and l knew screaming was
not going to help. I do not know when was the last time l prayed, but on that
day, l prayed really hard, asking God to accept my soul when l get to heaven. I
apologised for all the wrong things that l have done in my life, because l
didn’t think I would survive,” said Mr Moyo.
The miner said he is not really sure what day or time it
was when he finally heard movement and voices of people outside trying to
communicate with him.
“Because l had no food or water, whenever I started feeling
weak l would scoop a handful of soil and eat it to try and regain my energy,”
Mr Moyo said.
He said the shaft became his home and toilet for what he
has now been told were four days.
“On the day the entrance was opened l could not believe l
had survived. It seemed like a dream because l have never heard of anyone who
survives being underground for days without food and water,” he said.
The miner said he was taken to Silobela District Hospital
where he was checked and given boosters to regain his energy. He was discharged
on the same day and is still recovering from home.
Will this mine worker go back to the mine where he nearly
died?
“I have no choice, but to go back to the shaft as soon as I
regain my strength because this is the only source of income that l know. If l
do not go back in the mine shaft, it means my family will go hungry,” he said.
The miner’s mother, Mrs Polite Moyo, said she arrived at
the scene on Saturday and never thought she would ever see her son alive again
She said when he was rescued, he was taken for a medical
check-up.
“He came out on Monday; it was on the fifth day. He did not
eat anything. I never thought he would come out alive,” she said.
Kwekwe District Civil Protection Unit chairperson Mr
Fortune Mpungu thanked everyone who came to rescue Mr Moyo.
“When l heard the news, I immediately put the word out that
help was needed at the mine. The Ministry of Mines, police, small scale miners,
and the community came to help the CPU in saving the young man. This incident
showed everyone that a community comes together in times of need and they
assist each other,” he said.
He said the teams camped outside the shaft regularly
engaging with the miner to ensure that he was still alive.
“I am urging all small-scale miners to ensure that their
mines are regularly inspected to ensure the safety of their miners. Miners
should avoid going underground when it is raining as the soils will be loose,”
said Mr Mpungu. Chronicle
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