A race against time is being conducted in Burkina Faso to rescue eight miners trapped underground for two weeks. The zinc mine operated by a British Columbia company is approximately 120 kilometers west of the capital, Ouagadougou.
On April 16, the Vancouver -based company Trevali Mining suspended operation at the Perkoa zinc mine after heavy rains caused flooding and the loss of eight workers.
Efforts to find and rescue these eight people, six Burkinabe, a Zambian and a Tanzanian, are still ongoing.
It was after an evacuation alert, after flooding the site, that the absence of miners was noticed and a rescue operation was immediately launched. with the help of firefighters and military engineers, a mine worker told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity.
Since then rescuers have been busy pumping large amounts of water that flooded the mine following heavy rains, he said.
For two weeks they were confined to the underground rainwater mine, we had no news.said André Bamouni, parent of one of the stranded minors. We have no information on the level of the search or on the chances of finding them alive.
Managers must stay in Burkina Faso
After visiting the mine on Sunday, Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister Albert Ouédraogo said the mine managers had no right to leave the country while the investigation was being conducted to determine the causes of the incident.
Preventive measures were taken to prevent those responsible for the mine from leaving the country and firm instructions were given to the Minister of Security to this effect.said a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister.
During his visit, Albert Ouédraogo said that, a few days before the accident had explosions in the open pit mine weakened the gallery and favored this flooding.
The company Tevali Mining, whose headquarters are located in Vancouver, says it has not received any official communication from Burkina Faso, but is aware of the Prime Minister’s statements. The mining company is also investigating the causes of the accident, he added.
Trevali’s senior management remains at the Perkoa mine to oversee the mine’s dewatering and rehabilitation.explanation of the company’s director of investor relations, Jason Mercier.
Trevali continues to work at full capacity, around the clock, to find missing workers.he told Reuters.
With information from Agence France-Presse and Reuters
Source: Radio-Canada
