Rescuers search for survivors in flooded Tanzania mine

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

MIRERANI, Tanzania (AFP) — Rescuers searched for dozens of miners trapped by floods in a pit in northern Tanzania Sunday, as families gathered with little hope of seeing their relatives alive.

Only six bodies have been recovered from the tanzanite concession in Mirerani, near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, since the accident occurred early Saturday.

Officials gave diverging counts of the number of miners believed to be trapped inside the pit, where thousands of small-scale miners dig to find the precious purple-blue mineral named after this east African country.

"In total, around 100 people were affected by the flooding, and 35 managed to get out alive," Manyara regional commissioner Henry Shekifu said Sunday.

"We are still looking for the bodies of...