GASSED:

SENENTEEN miners at Colum Coal Mine Industries Limited in Sinazongwe district yesterday suffocated after a suspected carbon monoxide leak underground.The 17 miners were found unconscious in the early hours of yesterday around 03:00hours at shaft six underground.Acting Mine Manager, Oliver Kabango, confirmed the accident in Sinazongwe in an interview yesterday.Mr Kabango, however, said no death was recorded as all the 17 victims were rescued immediately and rushed to Sinazeze health centre.He said all of them were in a stable condition and had already been discharged after receiving treatment at the health centre.“We have since deployed the Mine Ventilation Officer and the Safety officer underground to ascertain the source of the gas that affected the miners,” Mr Kabango stated.Sinazongwe District Commissioner, Sheena Muleya, who visited the victims at the health centre before they were discharged, expressed worry over the accident that almost claimed lives.She later toured the site at Shaft six where the accident occurred and addressed the mine management.“You must desist from negligence of this nature to avoid the risk of losing the lives of workers at the expense of maximizing profit,” Ms Muleya said.The DC directed management to submit a detailed report on what caused the reak of carbon monoxide.Meanwhile, Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) representative, at Colum Coal Mine, Oliver Siantiyo, has called for serious investigations into the matter.Mr Siantiyo said workers at the mine fear for their lives due to inadequate safety measures.“The accident could not have happened if only responsible officers at the mine had conducted pre -inspections underground before deploying the miners there,” he charged.The MUZ representative appealed to the Labour Office to help ensure safety of the workers The Sun