Four feared dead as mine collapses in northern Tanzania

At least four miners were feared dead on Monday night and six others were rescued when a gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northern region of Mara, rescuers said.

Elia Caleb, leading a team of rescuers, said the collapse at Buhemba gold mine happened when the miners were inside digging illegally.

Two weeks ago, at least seven miners were killed in the same goldmine when a different pit collapsed.

"The Monday midnight incident occurred when the miners illegally entered in the mine intending to conduct their activities without valid permits," said Caleb.

Last week, the Tanzanian government suspended mining activities in the area after it was established that mining activities were being done illegally.

Caleb said: "I saw bodies of the four miners trapped inside the pit, and it was hard to pull them out of the pit because they were covered by rocks."

Caleb added that it was difficult to pull out the bodies because of inferior rescue equipment.

The rescuer said the six miners who were rescued were rushed to nearby Butiama district government hospital for treatment.

Paul Charles, another rescuer, echoed that it was almost impossible to pull out the bodies trapped underneath rocks, adding that the pit was also full of water.

Stephano Mseti, chairman of Small Miners Association in Mara region, said they were shocked by the grisly incident that occurred a week after another similar tragedy.

He said that they did not know exactly the number of people who entered into the mine as they used an illegal entrance to get into the mine since the formal entrances were closed down, pending official resumption of mining activities. Endit