300 mines trapped during power outage

 

By ALEX NJOVU

MORE than 300 miners were trapped in cages for several hours at two copper mines in Chililabombwe and Kitwe during Zesco’s electricity power failure experienced throughout the country on Saturday night.

And patients admitted to various health institutions without generators in various parts of Zambia were on Saturday night subjected to using candles to light up the admission wards.
It was worse for residents because the electricity outage resulted in water generation failure by various water companies in the country
Mine Workers Union of Zambia general secretary, Oswell Munyenyembe, said yesterday in an interview that more than 200 miners were trapped in a cage at Konkola Copper Mine’s Konkola Division in Chililabombwe, while 100 more found themselves in a similar situation at Mopani Copper Mine’s Nkana Division in Kitwe.
He said eight more miners were also trapped at Mindolo shaft in Kitwe.
Mr Munyenyembe claimed that the miners were only evacuated yesterday around 06:00 hours.
“We cannot continue risking the lives of human beings, especially the miners.
The lives of miners are at risk here.
This is a sad development and it happened because of total negligence on the part of some people,” Mr Munyenyembe said.
He said it was unfortunate that the country experienced another total darkness and called on Zesco management to come up with measures to avoid a reoccurrence of the incident in future.
And KCM communications advisor, Sam Equamo, said the mining firm had been adversely affected by the electricity blackout experienced on Saturday.
Mr Equamo said in an interview from Chingola that KCM experienced partial floods at one of its shafts at Konkola Division in Chililabombwe.
He stressed that the smelter at Nkana Division in Kitwe was also damanged because of the power failure.
Mr Equamo said the mining giant was still accessing the extent of the damage caused by the electricity blackout.
It was a similar story at First Quantum Minerals Limited’s Bwana Mkubwa Mine in Ndola.
FQM operations manager, Andre Scott, said in an interview that the company stopped production after power went off around 19:30 hours on Saturday.
Electricity was only restored around 11:00 hours yesterday.
Mr Scott said the company had only one source of electricity at Zesco’s Maposa power station.
He said the company was yet to access the loss and damage following the electricity power failure.
And a check at Ndola Central Hospital at 21:00 hours on Saturday found relatives of the admitted patients buying candles to use in the wards.
Electricity at the institution was only restored at 11:34 hours yesterday.
However, a check at Arthur Davison Hospital yesterday found operations going on normally as the institution was able to generate its own power.
Indeni Petroleum Refinery was not affected as the company uses Cummins power generators, a source told Zambia Daily Mail in Ndola yesterday.
Mufulira District Commissioner, Dyfold Mulwa, said the blackout experienced in the district caused water shortages to most areas supplied by Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company.
And resident of Kitwe, Kalulushi and Chambishi and health institutions such as Kitwe Central Hospital were hit by an acute shortage of water following the electricity power failure.
Nkana Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) public relations manager, Damaseke Chibale, said the water shortage was caused by the electricity blackout.
“We switched off the pumps following the black out but residents should not panic because we will start supplying water into their homes by 12:00 hours today (yesterday),” Mr Chibale said.
In Lusaka, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) was forced to use candles to light up some wards due to the power blackout
UTH public relations officer, Pauline Mbangweta, however, said the power failure did not have adverse effects on the operations of the hospital.
She said the hospital’s sensitive areas such as the incubator for premature babies and the theatre were not affected by the power failure because of back-up generators
In North-Western Province, Kansanshi and Lumwana mines in Solwezi were also affected by the electricity power failure.
Power in Solwezi was only restored yesterday around 08:00 hours.
Other strategic institutions in the district did not have power on Saturday night and part of Sunday.
Only two institutions had power; Solwezi Stanbic Bank and Zamtel offices because of their generators.
At Stanbic Bank an automated teller machine (ATM) was found working around 20:00 hours with people withdrawing their cash.
Several guests at Royal Solwezi Hotel were served their dinner under candlelight.