PRESIDENT HICHILEMA TO ATTEND BURIAL OF 9 MINERS TODAY
Five more bodies have been pulled out from the Senseli Open Pit Mine site in Chingola, bringing the cumulative retrievals to 12 with one alive.
The five bodies were retrieved between Saturday night and yesterday in the morning, according to Copperbelt Minister Elisha Matambo.
Briefing the media on the ongoing rescue operation, Mr Matambo said of the bodies retrieved so far, two have been buried while nine are expected to be interred at a mass burial.
Mr Matambo said President Hakainde Hichilema will attend the mass burial scheduled for today.
“On the 6th of December, we retrieved the first three victims from one of the tunnels and out of those, one was alive and he is still alive,” he said.
“On the 8th, we retrieved two bodies.” Mr Matambo said on Saturday, two bodies that were announced by press time, in addition to five others that were retrieved between night and morning of yesterday, have pushed the tally to 12 (including the one who is alive).
The minister said of the nine unburied bodies, seven have been identified by their families while two are yet to be claimed.
He hopes the two bodies will be identified so they can be buried with their colleagues.
Mr Matambo confirmed that President Hichilema will attend the mass burial. He said the age range of most victims is between 21 and 35.