Seven miners, including two Chinese have been trapped in a flooded mine in Zambia’s Copperbelt province since Monday.
The workers were part of the staff at the Chinese-owned Macrolink copper mine in Ndola city, near the Democratic Republic of Congo border. They became trapped underground after water flooded the mine, which is still in the construction phase.
The Chinese embassy in Zambia stated that it was mobilizing rescue specialists to aid in the situation. Operations at the mine have been temporarily suspended, as reported by Zambia’s state broadcaster.
This incident follows closely after a previous tragedy, where landslides buried several miners at the Seseli Mine in Chingola, located about 400 km (250 miles) northwest of the capital, Lusaka. Despite efforts by emergency services, the fate of around 30 missing miners from the landslides remains unknown.
Augustine Kasongo, a senior government official in Copperbelt province, reported that one person has been rescued from the flooded mine. Rescue teams are currently working to pump out water from the mine, with reports indicating that the trapped miners are about 235 meters (771 feet) below the surface.
The two Chinese individuals trapped in the mine are the supervisor and a controller, while the other five are Zambian staff who were working at the mine’s shaft bottom, according to local media.
In response to the situation, the Chinese embassy has provided “dewatering equipment and other necessary assistance” to support the Zambian authorities’ rescue efforts.
Zambia is one of the world’s leading copper producers, with many of its mines operated by foreign companies. President Hakainde Hichilema recently announced plans to introduce stricter regulations in the mining industry to prevent the unauthorized sale of mining licenses to foreign entities.
