Burkina Faso: 4 of 8 miners trapped underground for 39 days found dead
View of one of the galleries of the Perkoa zinc mine, in Burkina Faso, during a rescue operation to find eight miners still stranded, May 13, 2022. REUTERS - ANNE MIMAULT
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In Burkina Faso, the government announced that it had found dead four of the eight minors reported missing on Tuesday night.
The bodies found in a gallery have not yet been identified.
They had been wanted since April 16, following a flood in the Perkoa zinc mine, in the center west.
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With our correspondent in Ouagadougou,
Yaya Boudani
“
The four lifeless bodies were discovered near the end of level 580, a few meters further from the second chamber of refuge
where it had been hoped to find the eight missing miners
“, according to our sources.
Pumping water had become very difficult due to mud and boulders, according to rescuers.
The bodies were discovered very late at night.
“
It was around 5 a.m. this morning that we were informed of the discovery of the four bodies,
” said the spokesperson for the families, Antoine Bama.
These lifeless bodies of four minors found have not yet been identified.
“
It's very difficult to recognize them at a glance.
A forensic pathologist is already there to carry out their formal identification,
”says another source.
After the findings of the Burkina Faso prosecutor at the Koudougou High Court, who came to the site around 11 p.m., the bodies were taken to the mine's cold room.
“
We are awaiting the identifications and the rest of the procedure so that the families can proceed with the burial
,” concludes Mr. Bama.
The Burkinabè government “
offers its sincere condolences to the families of the victims, to the workers, to those responsible for the mine and to the local communities
”.
"
Search operations are continuing to find the four other minors
," government spokesman Lionel Bilgo said in a statement.
The eight miners had found themselves trapped in the mine after torrential rains caused flooding.
A drama that aroused
strong emotions in Burkina Faso.
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