Home » LATEST NEWS » CHINGOLA Illegal Miner BURIED Alive In A LANDSLIDE

By Editor on January 19, 2012.

A 23-YEAR-OLD illegal miner died instantly after he was buried alive in a landslide while three others escaped death at Nchanga open pit mine in Chingola.
And a 20-year-old boy has committed suicide after he was allegedly caught stealing brick games from a shop in Chililabombwe’s second-class trading area.
Copperbelt commissioner of police Mary Tembo confirmed the two incidents in an interview in Kitwe yesterday.
Ms Tembo identified the deceased illegal miner as Joseph Sichinga.
She said Mr Sichinga, who was in the company of his friends, was buried alive in a landslide on Monday while digging out copper ore at the Nchanga open pit mine.
Ms Tembo said a team of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) police officers only managed to retrieve Mr Sichinga’s body in the afternoon and it is lying in the Kasoso Clinic mortuary.
“One illegal miner died on the spot while digging copper ore with his friends. A landslide occurred and he was buried alive but his friends managed to escape,” Ms Tembo said.
And Ms Tembo said Julius Mukupa of Poor People’s township in Chililabombwe hanged himself on Monday with a sweater in a shop after he was allegedly caught stealing brick games.
Ms Tembo said Mr Mukupa allegedly stole the brick games from Helen Trading Shop but that the owner decided to lock him up inside the shop while waiting for transport to take him to the police.
She said in the process, Mr Mukupa decided to hang himself using the sweater he was wearing.
Meanwhile, police in Chililabombwe have recovered a motor vehicle registration number ABR 1611 which was abandoned by three criminals near the Democratic Republic of Congo power line in the Kasema Forest.
Ms Tembo said the criminals abandoned the vehicle after police chased them.
She said police also found a stolen television set in the back seat of the vehicle.