AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl, who suffered third degrees burns when she fell into a coal fire pit as the ground beneath her curved in, has died.
Alisha Sekina Muzvite died on Monday night at 10pm at Mpilo Central Hospital where she had been admitted for the last two weeks.
Speaking to Daily News, her mother, Ethel Ncube appealed for financial assistance to help bury her daughter and pay outstanding medical costs.
Ncube said Hwange Colliery Company, which owns the coal mine field, had not been forthcoming to assist.
“We appeal to well-wishers to help us in any way possible. Hwange Colliery sent two people when our daughter was in hospital but so far, they have only offered us a hamper of bananas and apples. While we appreciate the fruit parcel, it won’t help us much,” she said.
“No amount of money or compensation can bring back my daughter, but help is needed. That’s a fact.”
The late Alisha is one of many victims, who have in the past years succumbed to burns from underground coal fires, which are becoming a cause for concern in Hwange.
The ground carved in, leading to her being swallowed waist deep by smouldering coals, when a fire hole opened at Makwika Old Mine dump in Hwange District, where she had gone to relieve herself in the company of her mother’s sister.
Her legs were both amputated last week as doctors tried to save her life, however Mpilo Central Hospital acting-chief executive Solwayo Ngwenya said the girl could not make it.
Alisha’s mother had hoped her daughter would survive after having gone through the amputations, surgeries and transfusions.
“We lost her last night towards midnight. Her condition had been promising. She was amputated on both legs last Wednesday but her condition was better on Friday as she could speak. We had hope,” Ncube said.
She said Alisha started reacting following a blood transfusion procedure done on Friday.
“My daughter was then given a blood transfusion and her body started to swell and sweat a lot. She was just getting worse. She died yesterday,” she said.
Hwange MP Daniel Molokele called for a multistakeholder approach to address the issue of Hwange coal fires.
“We mourn the death of our daughter Alisha who has experienced such a painful death at such a young age. This situation of underground coal fires needs a multistakeholder approach to ensure that communities living around mining communities are protected going forward,” he said.
Andile Tshuma
in BULAWAYO