Day: May 25, 2022

OUAGADOUGOU— Four of the eight miners who have been missing since mid-April in a flooded mine in Burkina Faso have been found dead, the government said on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, after 39 days of intense searches, the lifeless bodies of four miners have been found,” government spokesman Lionel Bilgo said in a statement, adding that the search was continuing for the four miners who remain missing.

The accident happened on April 16 at a zinc mine owned by Canada’s Trevali Mining in Perkoa, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the capital Ouagadougou.

Six Burkinabe, a Zambian and a Tanzanian went missing in the shafts 700 metres (2,300 feet) underground.

“Unfortunately, after 39 days of intense searches, the lifeless bodies of four miners have been found,” government spokesman Lionel Bilgo said in a statement.

The search was continuing for the four miners who remain missing, he said.

The statement did not specify the nationalities of those whose bodies were found.

Rescue teams have for weeks been pumping out water from the mine, with extra support and equipment being brought from Ghana.

It was hoped that the missing miners had been able to make it to the mine’s ‘refuge chamber’ 580 metres underground, which was equipped survival kits including water, food and medicine.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

KINSHASA— The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported five cases of Ebola virus disease amid the latest outbreak in the northwestern part of the country.

Five cases of Ebola virus disease, including four confirmed ones, had been reported since the beginning of the 14th outbreak, which was declared in late April in the northwestern province of Equateur, the WHO office tweeted, noting all five patients have died.

To date, 234 contacts have been identified and are under surveillance, while 1,013 people, including frontline workers, have been vaccinated.

Patient Zero, a 31-year-old man, began experiencing symptoms on April 5 and after more than a week of care at home, sought treatment at a local health facility. On April 21, the patient was admitted to an Ebola treatment center for intensive care but died later that day, according to local health authorities.

DRC is experiencing its 14th Ebola outbreak since 1976. The current outbreak is the sixth since 2018 alone, the most frequent occurrence in the country’s Ebola history.

Previous outbreaks in Equateur Province were in 2020 and 2018, with 130 and 54 recorded cases, respectively, according to the WHO office.

In December 2021, DRC declared the end of its 13th Ebola outbreak in which eight cases were confirmed and three probable, including six deaths in the northeastern North Kivu province.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK