Mine accident in South Africa kills 23 illegal miners

At least 23 illegal miners from Zimbabwe were killed last month in a mine accident near the South African city of Johannesburg, Zimbabwean officials said on Wednesday, reporting a death toll much higher than previously disclosed.

Godfrey Magwenzi, Zimbabwe's Consul General in Johannesburg, said 23 Zimbabweans died at an abandoned mine in Roodeport, which is part of Johannesburg, on February 21 after inhaling high levels of carbon monoxide. The South African government previously said only five people had died.

"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," the Consul General said, as quoted by the Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald. He said it took rescue workers 10 hours to bring the first two bodies to the surface.

Rescue efforts were initially abandoned after the first bodies were recovered due to high levels of poisonous gas. Authorities also discovered that the tunnel used to enter the mine was too narrow, making it difficult for rescue teams to enter with their equipment.

One survivor, identified as Solani Ndhlovu, said the miners had entered the abandoned mine on the afternoon of February 20 and worked through the 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," Magwenzi said.

The Zimbabwean government said it planned to begin repatriating 21 of the bodies on Thursday, including five bodies who were found without identification documents and their identities remain unknown. The bodies of the two other illegal miners killed in the accident have already been collected by relatives for burial.

The Zimbabwe-owned company Kings and Queens Funeral Services offered to provide 21 coffins and handling services free of charge if the relatives of the victims paid 53,000 South African Rand ($4,952) to transport the bodies to Zimbabwe. The relatives were able to raise only 23,000 South African Rand ($2,148) while Lionshare, another Zimbabwe-owned company, paid the remaining balance.

South Africa has a history of mining accidents, but the crisis-hit sector has also been hit by waves of strikes and high operating costs. The country's worst ever mine disaster occurred in January 1960 when a massive collapse occurred at a mine near the city of Vereeniging, killing at least 435 people.

Thursday 06 March 2014

http://wireupdate.com/mine-accident-in-south-africa-kills-23-illegal-miners.html

9 killed, 9 others missing after dhow capsizes in Djibouti's Khor Angar river

A dhow carrying 36 illegal migrants capsized this week in the river Khor Angar within Obock region in northern Djibouti, local media reported on Wednesday.

The wreckage left nine people dead and nine others missing. Up to 18 passengers survived. The majority of the illegal migrants were Ethiopians, according to media reports published in the Red Sea country.

Volunteers from the Djibouti Red Cross disclosed that the dhow was overloaded, without any safety measures and sailing in poor weather conditions.

Djiboutian media praised the Red Cross team in Obock for rushing to the scene to rescue the victims and collect the dead bodies.

Common graves were dug to burry the dead after the tragedy.

Thursday 06 March 2014

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=204828

Japanese coast guard calls off search operation for missing Indonesian sailors

Japanese coast guard on Wednesday evening announced that it called off search operations for missing Indonesian sailors off the coast of the western Japanese island of Shikoku.

The three Indonesian sailors went missing with four other Japanese and Indonesian crew members after their fishing boat No. 8 Kaisei-maru caught fire on Sunday in the sea area, about 410 kilometers off the coast of Kochi Prefecture on the island.

Along with nearby fishing boats, the 5th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Kobe City launched major search and rescue operations in the area, and the teams rescued one of the Indonesian sailors and recovered the bodies of three men, two Japanese and an Indonesian, on Monday evening.

But since then the operation effort is of no avail.

After the evening announcement, a spokesperson for the coast guard headquarters told Xinhua that since the possibility of finding anyone on board the damaged tuna fishing vessel from the sea area is small, the office decided to call off the extensive operations by sunset, adding that its teams continue search operation as patrolling the area on a regular basis.

Thursday 06 March 2014

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=204814