While six bodies have been dug out of a collapsed quarry in Shinyanga region after the mining tragedy left 11 others with serious injuries, it being reported that the makeshift mine had more than just the 17 victims.
Some reports from Shinyanga say the workers in the quarry were 20 while others say there could have been up to 30 miners who were digging underground, when disaster struck last Sunday.
That therefore means there could be many more still buried under the ruble or missing.
More than 20 people who were working in the quarry belonging to ‘Hapa Kazi Tu,’ group in the Mwakitolyo Village were buried in debris, when the mine pit walls came down crumbling due to soggy soil caused by ongoing rains.
The Fire and Rescue Force’s Deputy Commander for Shinyanga Region, Thomas Majuto explained that the miners who were registered at the site were 17 and all have been accounted for, including the six who are already dead and 11 injured ones undergoing medical treatments at hospitals.
He pointed out that, in case there were more people who were working in the quarry clandestinely, then they have no information about that.
The Fire and Rescue Commander admitted that, it was normal for people to trespass into the local mines, treasure hunting for the rocks containing gold and other minerals at the expense of their own safety.
Cases of miners being buried alive in Shinyanga and other Lake Zone regions of Tanzania are common during monsoon rains seasons.