Gold mine collapse kills 4 in Tanzania

At least 4 miners were killed and 3 others injured when a gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northwestern region of Geita, police said.

Geita Regional Police Commander Mponjoli Mwabulambo on Thursday confirmed the accident, saying it happened in a remote area of Geita Town located on the western shores of the world's second-largest freshwater lake -- Victoria.

The accident occurred at around 8 a.m. at a depth of 10 m as a group of seven miners were working in the gold mine pit, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mwabulambo said that four miners were killed by falling rocks and another three were taken to a hospital, though their injuries were not life-threatening.

According to him, preliminary investigation shows that the accident occurred as a result of the ongoing rains.

Geita District Commissioner Herman Kapufi said the rescue team had arrived on the scene of an accident and managed to retrieve bodies of the killed miners.

Deadly accidents are frequent in the gold-rich region of Geita, particularly in areas that are being operated by small-scale miners.

n January, 14 people, including one Chinese national, were trapped after a small gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northwestern region of Geita.

--IANS

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