VIDEO: Four dead, one survives in illegal mining accident in Zambia

Four people have died and one survived after an illegal mining accident at the Kalali Resettlement Scheme in Senior Chief Kalasamukoso’s area of Milenge District, Luapula Province, Zambia.

Luapula Province Permanent Secretary Prudence Chinama-Kangwa said preliminary investigations indicated that the five were allegedly engaged in illegal mining inside a 20-metre-deep pit with underground tunnels when the incident occurred on Saturday afternoon.

According to Mrs Chinama-Kangwa, the victims are believed to have died from suffocation caused by low oxygen levels inside the pit. A generator and water pump had reportedly also been taken into the pit.

She said experts had retrieved all four bodies and confirmed that no other victims remained trapped.

The Permanent Secretary, who visited the survivor at Samfya District Hospital, said the individual was receiving treatment but remained disoriented and in shock.

Mrs Chinama-Kangwa described the incident as tragic and avoidable, urging the public to refrain from unsafe mining practices.

She also called on artisanal miners to formalise their operations by obtaining the necessary licences and complying with safety requirements to help prevent further loss of life.

Credit: Kanele Fm