Miner dies as pit caves in at Port Kaituma

Dead: Mark Benjamin

Yet another gold miner has died after a pit in which he was working caved in. The accident on this occasion occurred at a mining area in the North West District.
The dead man has been identified as 39-year-old Mark Samuel Benjamin of Jospeh Pollydore Street, Lodge. The dead man’s mother, Ingrid Davis, said she was greeted with the news of her eldest son’s demise at around 07:00 hours yesterday. According to Mrs. Davis, she last saw her son in August of last year.
“He father come in the country and he come out to see he father and like two weeks after he went back in,” she recounted
The woman related that her grandson who works at a different location in the interior was the one who broke the news to them.
“After he call and tell we, I tell he ‘boy, just left whatever y’all doing and go check and see what happen.’”
“All he tell we is that Mark was working in a pit and the pit cave-in and cover he.”
Mrs. Davis said she was told that by the time her grandson reached to where her son was, he was only asked to identify a corpse.
“The man who Mark working fuh just tell me that he will book a flight and send out the body some time tomorrow (today).”
Mrs. Davis said she last spoke to her son on Saturday when he called to check on the family.
Recounting her last conversation with her son, the woman who was sobbing uncontrollably said she pleaded with him to come home for the new year.
“I didn’t like how he was sounding so I asked him what happen and he said he feel like the Malaria coming on, so I say why you don’t come out.”
The woman, who said that her son has been working for more than ten years in the interior, lamented his not being able to come recently.
“One time he stay for like two years in the bush without coming home and he only come the last time because he father come…he promise we that he was coming last Christmas, but he didn’t….now this.”