Two miners passed on Monday through suffocation after they ran out of oxygen from deep down a quarry from where they were extracting mining. The incident occurred at around 11am in Kagogo Sector, Burera District as confirmed by Chief Inspector of Police Hamdun Twizeyimana, the Northern Province regional police spokesperson. “They ran out of oxygen in the process of extracting minerals. One died on the spot while the other one passed on as he was being rushed to a nearby heath centre,” Twizeyimana told The New Times. Victims were identified as Leonald Bambanze, 60 and Jean Paul Habumugisha a.k.a Rukumbika, 29. They were all from Burera District. The victims were working in a Wolfram mine owned by New Bugarama Mining Company. According to area residents, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred. However, Twizeyimana called on miners to be vigilant when they are working inside the mines and advised them to wear oxygen masks as well as to hire qualified and skilled employees. He also urged companies to always ensure their employees have the right protection gear, saying that such incidents should not be happening if companies have measures in place to not only ensure workers are protected, but also make sure they use the gear.
