An illegal gold miner died after he was trapped underground at a quarry pit where they were mining for gold.
The deceased who has been identified by police as Limukani Mpofu of Cowdray Park suburb was trapped inside the 15-metre-deep pit yesterday morning.
“On the 25th of March 2023 between 8pm and 6am, the now deceased and four other male adults were doing illegal gold panning at Khumalo pit sand along Cecil and Coughlan Avenues, Bulawayo. The now deceased and one other male adult went inside the pit to remove gold ore,” said Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube.
The other gold panners managed to rescue one of their colleagues and failed to assist the deceased.
After realising that Mpofu had been trapped inside the pit, the gold panners alerted a Bulawayo City Council security detail who was manning the place and he reported the matter to the police.
“The body of the now deceased was retrieved by the fire brigade team and was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals mortuary.”
Inspector Ncube warned members of the public to desist from illegal gold mining as they will be putting their lives in danger as “most disused mines were left because they posed some hazards.”
