A coal miner was killed on the spot while another was injured when a hanging rock fell on them at Kaziwiziwi Coal Mine in the northern mountainous district of Rumphi, mine officials have confirmed.
“Yes, we had an accident on Wednesday when a miner was killed and another is currently in hospital,” William Phiri, the mine manager, told the media in an interview on Thursday. Phiri, however, could not give further details as investigations into what actually happened were still under way.
Sources say the hanging rock was ejected from the wall of the mine as the miners were digging around it. It crashed the miner and killed him on the spot. Officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines were Thursday travelling to the mine to investigate the incident.
This is a second fatality in as many years at the mine. Some two years ago another miner was killed at the mine following a landslide. But mine officials were quick Thursday to defend the safety of mine, saying the first incident had no connection with the mine as it occurred outside.
