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Every minute counts. For three weeks, the pumping machines have been working day and night in the zinc mine of Perkoa, in the center-west of Burkina Faso, to try to evacuate the floods of water which flooded the underground galleries and trapped eight miners – six Burkinabés, a Tanzanian and a Zambian – on April 16. « We haven’t had any news since, but we still hope to find them alive »blows Antoine Bama, brother of one of the workers and representative of the parents of the victims, contacted by telephone.
From now on, the rescue teams are basing their last hope on one of the mine’s refuge chambers. Located about 580 meters deep, this small waterproof shelter was dug to protect workers in the event of fire, rockfall or flooding. On Monday, the technicians reached level 580, where the reduced one is. “They are very close, there have been small machine breakdowns which have slowed down the work, but we hope to reach the refuge room in the next few hours”reports Antoine Bama, at the exit of the daily information point organized by the persons in charge for the mine, Tuesday May 10.
For families, the suspense is unbearable. « It’s terrible the uncertainty, not knowing in what state we will find them, we hardly sleep anymore », says Mr. Bama, on the spot since the disappearance of his little brother Charles, a 45-year-old driver. No one had been found in the first chamber of refuge, located more on the surface, and the third and last, at the bottom of the mine, can only accommodate six people and leaves little chance of survival for the missing.
More radio communications
« At the time of the flood, most of the miners were on level 580, we hope that the group had time to take refuge in the second room which was the closest »explains Moussa Palenfo, director of Nantou Mining, the Burkinabé subsidiary of the Canadian operator, Trevali Mining.
Rescue teams have pumped out a total of 34 million liters of water so far. Impossible to know if the shelter resisted the pressure of the flood and especially, if the eight miners will be inside. The disaster cut off the electrical system and all radio communications with the inside of the farm have since been suspended.
According to Mr. Palenfo, however, the air duct of the second refuge chamber was not damaged. “In theory, this room can accommodate 26 people for 72 hours, but investigations are still underway to determine the amount of water and food stocks it contained”specifies the latter.
Since the tragedy, the Burkinabés have lived to the rhythm of the latest news relayed by the crisis unit, relocated to the high commissionership of Réo, a few kilometers from Perkoa. On social networks, prayer messages, calling for » do not forget [les mineurs] » and asking the authorities to « do everything possible » to save them, multiply. Many also criticize the « slowness » relief operations. « At the beginning, things weren’t progressing, we had to raise our voices and hold a sit-in for the government to intervene and help us put pressure on those responsible »castigates Antoine Bama.
Narrowness of the main shaft
The mining company had promised the families to reach the second chamber of refuge on May 5, without meeting this deadline. “We had to rehabilitate the entire descent ramp which was eroded by water before installing the first pumps. Some, motorized, broke down, we had to order more efficient electric machines from Ghana and South Africa”, answers the director of Nantou Mining. The depth of the mine – 710 meters – and the narrowness of its main shaft, connected to galleries at each level, every 30 meters, slowed the progress of the work.
Gray areas also persist around the causes of the flooding of this zinc deposit, the only one in the country, exploited since 2013 for a « twelve-year lifespan », according to the Burkinabe mines ministry. On April 16, heavy rains, exceptional in this period of drought in Burkina Faso, broke two protective dikes and water seeped into the galleries. Of the twenty-four people on the team, sixteen were evacuated urgently. « We still don’t know why the other eight got stuck »says Moussa Palenfo.
Burkinabé Prime Minister Albert Ouédraogo, who visited the site on 1er May, accompanied by a government delegation, deplored “a certain number of actions which were undertaken a few days before the incident, in particular blasting on the open pit mine, which weakened the gallery and favored this flooding”.
The Prime Minister announced the opening of an investigation into « to place all the responsibilities » and » Conservatory measures « were taken to prevent those responsible for the mine from leaving the country, pending the results of the investigations. The families of Burkinabe miners have also lodged a complaint « against X for “attempted manslaughter”, “endangering the lives of others” and « no assistance to the person in danger » « .