Africa-Press – Uganda. The police have tasked territorial commanders to close illegal mines following a surge in the number of deaths at quarries and mines.
The call comes after police registered four deaths last week, with two deaths registered in Kassanda District, one death in Namutumba District, and one death in Nagalama, Mukono.
“We task the territorial commanders to work with the respective districts and where there are no safety standards and protocols in place, they should ensure that those illegal mines and quarries that are not safe for excavation and mining should be closed until additional investments in terms of safety measures are put in place,” Mr Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, said yesterday in a press briefing.
The first incident, according to Mr Enanga, was registered last week on March 19, where two casual workers at Lugingi B Village in Kassanda Village, had gone for their routine mining work but they were trapped due to lack of oxygen and suffocated.
“We have had a history of most of the people who die in these mines and quarries being trapped and some suffocate to death, these two victims, the mining pit that belonged to one Kityo lacked safety gears, electricity, no supply of oxygen so the victims who entered the mine at 5am got trapped for almost 16 hours because they ran out of oxygen at 4pm,” Mr Enanga said.
Police say they retrieved the bodies of the suspects subjected them to postmortem and handed them over to the relatives.
“We had two other incidents where two victims were buried while carrying out excavation and mining of stones and one of the incidents happened in Namukekenda Village in Namutumba District where a one Brian Gaulo, 19, after the roof of the quarry where they were mining stones and murram curved in and buried him to death. The brother of the deceased was taken for treatment but this mine had no safety controls,” Mr Enanga said.
He added: “On March 23 at 4 pm, at Kumbugwe Hill in Nagalama Town Council, there is a stone quarry which collapsed and buried a female adult and mother called Esther Namwanje who was mining stones, concerned residents tried to rescue her but in vain.”
Police said these incidents highlight the danger that mines and quarries have.
“There are no safeguards in terms of rescue equipment, electricity, constant supply of oxygen, no lifeguards, the walls have cracks from blasts and easily collapse when there is a vibration or from weights above. We have established that falls from collapsed roofs and walls are the number one cause of deaths in mines and quarries which makes excavation in mines so dangerous,” Mr Enanga said.
He added: “The rocks and soils above can break free during the mining process or they can destabilize the entire face of the rock. The other big risk that miners should take into consideration is affixation where the mines contain dangerous gases. So the deeper the miners go, there are low levels of oxygen so some victims have been inhaling dangerous air and gases which have been causing their deaths.”
He revealed the other causes of death in mines and quarries as passage collapse, rock falls, and drowning, and added that they want to work together with proprietors of these quarries and mines to prevent some of these dangers when they put some of the safety measures in place.
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