Zambia landslides bury miners digging tunnels illegally, killing 7 and leaving more than 20 missing

By TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI and NOEL SICHALWE
Associated Press

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Police and local authorities in Zambia say seven miners have been confirmed dead and more than 20 others are missing, presumed dead, after heavy rains caused landslides that buried them inside tunnels they had been digging illegally at a copper mine. Police say no bodies have yet been retrieved after the landslides late on Thursday night at an open-pit mine in the city of Chingola, on the copper belt. They said in a statement Saturday that many of the victims are believed to have drowned. Police didn’t say how many miners in total there were in the tunnels but Chingola District Commissioner Raphael Chumupi told The Associated Press that there were at least 36.