More than 30 people were feared trapped Friday in a mine collapse in Zambia. The incident occurred in a region known for illegal open-cast digging for copper, a minister said.
“May I just inform the nation that we have a tragedy brewing in Chingola” Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu told parliament.
“We have more than 30 people under the rubble” in a makeshift mine, he added. He gave no further details.
The mines ministry did not comment. It said it would make an inspection first at the site in the Chingola region. This is about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of the capital Lusaka.
Zambia is one of the world’s largest copper producers and Chingola is in the country’s copper-belt region.
The region has one of the world’s largest open-cast copper mines and some of the waste hills are 100 metres (300 feet) high.
