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Disaster at Kilimanjaro's Tanzanite mine -
Posted by Henry at 7:58
pm, April 4th 2008.
Up to 70 miners are feared to have died in a disaster at the Mererani
mine, 16km south of Kilimanjaro Airport, on Friday of last week.
A combination of
floods and a mudslide are believed to have killed the miners, who were trapped in
a series of pits underground. Survivors have talked how they saw a river coming down
like a waterfall and were unable to do anything about those trapped in chambers up
to 200m underground.
It is not the first time the Mererani Mine has witnessed disasters,
with a similar tragedy occurring in 1998. Back then, around 100 people were said
to have perished.
Rescuers have tried to search for any survivors and to reach the
bodies of those who perished but, due to the danger, have so far been unable to bring
many of the bodies back to the surface. Only thirty corpses have so far been recovered,
largely from a mudslide which has so far blocked off any attempts to reach those
in the underground chambers.
According to the authorities there are currently 67
registered miners unaccounted for, though the actual death toll may be far higher
as often hordes of youths sneak into the mines unregistered.