'Hiroshima mine' kills eight
2004-07-12 20:20
Kinshasa - Part of the east Congo uranium mine that fuelled the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki collapsed, killing at least eight miners digging there illicitly, authorities said on Monday.
The collapse happened on Friday at Shinkolobwe Mine, an open pit honeycombed with tunnels. News reached the capital only on Monday because of poor roads and communications in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mining minister Diomi Ndongala said eight miners had been killed. But a local official said nine bodies had been recovered by Monday.
Ndongala denied claims by miners that up to 30 of their colleagues remained trapped inside.
"No... the others were saved in time," he said.
Shinkolobwe Mine has been officially closed for decades, and its main shaft sealed.
Thousands working there illegally
President Joseph Kabila ordered the zone around the mine to be closed earlier this year amid growing concerns that unregulated nuclear materials could get into the hands of so-called rogue nations or terrorist groups.
Thousands of miners continue to work illegally in its tunnels, most in search of cobalt ore also found in the soil.
Six clandestine miners were pulled out safely after the mine collapsed on Friday, said Mwema Teli, a safety official for the Congo government mines agency, by phone.
Petwe Kapande, mayor of the nearby town of Kipushi, said workers had recovered nine bodies by Monday.
- AP