Eight people, most of them women, have died while five others are nursing injuries after an artisanal gold mine collapsed at Kasalika Village, Sub-Traditional Authority Suza in Kasungu District yesterday morning.
When Malawi News Agency (Mana) visited the site, hundreds of people had gathered alongside district council officials, police and health authorities.
Village head Ndalama, who witnessed the accident, described it as a huge blow to the community.
“The day started like any other and we went to the mining site as usual. Suddenly, we heard a loud noise, like a heavy object had fallen, followed by a short cry. We rushed to one of the trenches and found that the walls had collapsed, burying about 13 people.”
The chief said one of the mine owners had been digging a hole using a drilling machine, an activity usually done at night.
“The strong vibrations from the drilling machine caused the wall of one trench, about 15 feet high, to collapse on the people who were digging and moving the earth to an open area,” Ndalama added.
Those confirmed dead are Mphatso Sindama, Lydia Mpando, Laban Kawongo, Tiikamawa Dzuwa, Ida Chikondi, Chimangeni Kawongo, Tiyamike Phiri and Grace Chisale. On the other hand, the injured included Kaputeni Banda, Gelesoni Chibwenzi and Nkhako Chilowamatambe.
The five injured were rushed to hospital.
Kasungu Police Station officer-in-charge Obrey Nyirenda described the mine as a “death trap” and urged safer mining practices.
“We have completed search and rescue operations. These people were not in a tunnel; it was an open pit, and the soil from the top buried them. It was not difficult to locate them. This is not a safe place; trenches are deep, and the drilling machines cause strong vibrations, making it very dangerous for everyone,” he said.
Kasungu district commissioner James Kanyangalazi also described the incident as a tragedy.
He said: “It’s heartbreaking to lose eight people at once, some very young. We need to work with local leaders and miners to identify safer ways of conducting mining activities.”
Kanyangalazi said the incident was reported to the Department of Disaster Management and the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture who pledged to provide coffins for the eight dead and maize to support the families, including of those who survived.
Miner Innocent Mtambo said communities had formed a cooperative to formalize mining operations. He added that gold from the mine is sold to buyers from Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia.
