The agony of Wankie 42 years on - Shouldn't this be a holiday?

10:27am 6th June 1972, the deadliest mining disaster in Zimbabwean history took place when an underground explosion occurred in Wankie No.2 Colliery.



Four hundred and twenty- seven miners lost their lives both black and white. Apart from the one hundred and seventy-six Zimbabweans who died, there were ninety-one Zambians, fifty-two from Mozambique, thirty-seven from Malawi, thirty Tanzanians, thirteen from Namibia, and one from Botswana.

The disaster took place when a series of underground explosions occurred at the No.2 colliery shaft known as Kamandama. With 426 fatalities, it remains the deadliest mine accident to date in both the history of Zimbabwe. It was initially believed that 468 miners were trapped, but the number was lowered after the owners found a number of people had not shown up for work.



Eight men were pulled alive from the mine after the initial explosions. Two new explosions on 7 June poured clouds of poisonous gas into the 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) of tunnels, making further rescue attempts impossible. On 9 June, the general manager of the Wankie colliery, Gordon Livingstone-Blevins, decided to leave the 423 bodies where they were.

A mass memorial service took place on 11 June at a nearby football stadium, where a crowd of about 5,000 people paid tribute. "This has cast a gloom over the whole country," Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith said during the service.

42 years on this very gloom day for the country and the world normally just passes by with very little recognition for it. One would have expected that a new Zimbabwe would have remembered this day and maybe declared a national holiday.