‘Drunk’ miner dies in mine shaft

Danisa Masuku

DO not work under the influence of alcohol!

This warning might have fallen on deaf ears as Thulani Machisa (28) is suspected to have died after he fell into a mine shaft where he was prospecting for gold while drunk.

The unfortunate incident happened at Happy Valley Mine in Hope Fountain on the outskirts of Bulawayo.

Reports are that Machisa spent the entire day boozing and later told his cousins that he wanted to go to his mining place to prospect for gold.

A source at the mine said his cousins warned him against doing so since he was drunk.
One of the miners who requested not to be named said: “While we were drinking alcohol he told his cousins that after 10pm he would go to his mining place to prospect for gold.

“We strongly discouraged him but he insisted stating that he would manage.”
On the same day at around 3pm his two cousins left him at the bar boozing and boarded a car to Bulawayo to do their errands.

The two cousins returned to Hope Fountain on the same day at around 11pm and went to their homes without checking on him.
On the following day when they looked for him in his room, he was not there.

“They looked for him all over but they could not find him. While they were searching for him, one of the cousins remembered that Machisa had told them that he wanted to go to his mining place to prospect for gold and that is when they went to one of the mine shafts where they stumbled on his lifeless body and retrieved it.”

Machisa’s body was ferried to United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for post-mortem.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident.

Insp Ncube discouraged members of the public from engaging in any work-related activity when they are drunk as this could put their lives at risk.