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Mererani rescue committee receives 49.9m/- from govt
2008-04-04 09:02:24
By Adam Ihucha
The government provided 49.9m/- out of the 128m/- budget proposed by the Mererani Rescue Committee to facilitate the exercise of retrieving bodies trapped in eight pits after flash floods caught up underground nearly 150 small-scale tanzanite miners at Mererani area in Simanjiro District, Manyara Region last Saturday.
``I have received about 49.9m/- from the government`s disaster fund and I have already deposited them into a special account opened at NMB Bank in Arusha,`` Manyara Regional Commissioner, Henry Shekifu told a press conference.
The total amount needed to facilitate the rescue operations stands at 128m/-, Shekifu said, appealing upon various institutions and individuals to contribute towards the catastrophe salvage task force.
According to him, the funds were needed the most for speeding the rescue task, saying the reconstruction of a major furrow that had succumbed to floods alone needs 25m/-.
``What is needed is cash in order to accomplish the rescue exercise. We need medicines and various rescue equipment, thus we need contributions from everybody,`` Shekifu noted.
Meanwhile, rescuers at Mererani have so far managed to pull out 21 bodies; six days after the operation had started.
Until yesterday afternoon, the death toll stood at 21 people, as rescuers continued to search for the remaining 54.
However, the rescue operation had been hindered by lack of pumps and pipes to drain water from underground pits.
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