Government have started repatriating 21 bodies of illegal miners who died at the Durban Deep mine in Roodepoort, South Africa on February 21 this year. Twenty-three Zimbabweans died in the abandoned gold mine.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, Zimbabwe's Consul-General in Johannesburg, Mr Godfrey Magwenzi, said Government had -- through relatives and two Zimbabwean companies -- mobilised R53 000 for the repatriation of the bodies.
He said a survivor, Solani Ndhlovu, indicated that the miners had entered the abandoned mine in the afternoon of February 20 and worked the whole night.
"Ndhlovu said the miners encountered smoke with a pungent smell when they were returning to the surface which made them weak. He lost four colleagues who died on the spot while another man who was part of the group survived.
"The poisonous gas also killed a number of other illegal miners who were working in different sections of the mine," he said.
Rescue efforts were abandoned due to high levels of poisonous gas in the shafts.
The authorities also discovered that the tunnel used by the illegal miners to enter the mine was too narrow, making it difficult for rescue workers to enter with their equipment.
"The Consulate was informed that among the trapped miners were Zimbabwean nationals. Two diplomats from the Consulate visited the mine on February 26 where two bodies of Zimbabweans were brought to the surface.
"It took the rescuers 10 hours to bring the two bodies to the surface. The South African police were at the mine throughout the operation to record the names of the deceased and take the bodies to a nearby government mortuary," Mr Magwenzi said.
The Consul was on February 28 informed that 23 Zimbabweans had died in the accident and two bodies had been collected by relatives for burial.
"On March 2, we engaged representatives of a Zimbabwean-owned company, Lionshare, owners of Powerhouse Bus Station in Johannesburg, who offered to provide financial assistance.
"However, the victims' relatives indicated that another Zimbabwean-owned company, Kings and Queens Funeral Services, had offered to provide 21 coffins and handling services at no charge if the relatives paid R53 000 for transportation of the bodies to Zimbabwe. The relatives raised R23 000, while Lionshare paid the balance of R30 000."
Mr Magwenzi said 13 of the bodies will be going to Nkayi, five to Gokwe South, two to Tsholotsho and one to Zhombe.
"The Consulate is working closely with the Registrar-General's Office to clear five of the deceased who did not have identification documents when they died."
The Consulate will also issue gratis temporary travel documents to 37 relatives to accompany the bodies to Zimbabwe.
"The convoy consisting five vehicles started the journey around 10 o'clock in the morning and we expected it to drive through Roodeport where our colleagues lost their lives before they head straight to the border."
He said the bodies would be taken straight to a funeral parlour in Bulawayo.
"We expect the bodies to be dispatched to the various centres where the victims came from. The memorial service scheduled Nkayi has been moved to Mapiwa Primary School in Gokwe South," he said.
Saturday 08 March 2014
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