ARUSHA, Tanzania, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Four miners were killed and three others injured on Thursday when a gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northwestern region of Geita.
Mponjoli Mwabulambo, Geita Regional Police Commander, confirmed the accident, saying it happened in a remote area of Geita Town located on the western shores of Lake Victoria, the world's second-largest freshwater lake.
The accident occurred at around 8 a.m. at a depth of 10 meters as a group of seven miners were working in the gold mine pit.
Mwabulambo said that four miners were killed by falling rocks and another three were taken to Katoro Health Center, though their injuries were not life-threatening.
According to him, preliminary investigation shows that the accident occurred as a result of the ongoing rains.
Herman Kapufi, Geita District Commissioner, said the rescue team had arrived on the scene of an accident and managed to retrieve bodies of the killed miners.
Deadly accidents are frequent in the gold-rich region of Geita, particularly in areas that are being operated by small-scale miners.
In January, 14 people, including one Chinese national, were trapped after a small gold mine collapsed in Tanzania's northwestern region of Geita. The accident occurred around 4 a.m. at the Chinese-invested RZT gold mine in Nyarugusu.
