Nine more bodies recovered from Sensele mine tragedy, mass burial set for Saturday

Nine bodies have been recovered from the Sensele Mine in Chingola following the December accident that left 36 miners trapped.

Speaking at a media briefing in Chingola on Friday, Copperbelt Minister, Elisha Matambo, announced that a mass burial was planned for Saturday at Chingola Central Cemetery.

“As of today, nine more bodies were retrieved a few days ago at site 1, the most complicated of all three sites,” Matambo said.

“This site was believed to have nine people trapped, bringing the total number of retrieved bodies from the Sensele Mine accident to 23, with one survivor.m,” he added.

Matambo reassured the families of the deceased that the government remained committed to supporting the recovery team, local miners and all affected families in ensuring the issue was brought to its logical conclusion.

“The government is determined to ensure that all bodies of those who were trapped are brought out and given a befitting send-off.

“Our focus will now be to retrieve the bodies from sites 2 and 3. President Hakainde Hichilema is still committed to providing each family of a deceased person K10,000, a burial site, coffins and other logistics to ensure that our departed brothers are properly honored,” Matambo said.

He mentioned that seven out of the nine recovered bodies have been identified, with the identification process currently underway for the remaining bodies in preparation for the Saturday mass burial.

Matambo assured the affected families that once the recovery process is concluded, the government would find the safest way to continue mining and ensure that such tragedies are prevented in the future.

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