Mhangura Hospital Bombed Underneath by Chinese Miners👇major infrastructure crisis has hit Mhangura Hospital after violent underground blasting carried out by suspected Chinese mining contractors late last night caused widespread structural damage to the facility. The powerful explosions, reportedly executed in the mountains adjacent to the hospital compound, resulted in deep cracks throughout the hospital wards — sparking fears that the entire building may now be on the verge of collapse.
Images taken from inside the hospital show alarming scenes of large vertical and horizontal cracks snaking through ward walls, support pillars, ceilings, and entrances. Sections of the brick structure have visibly dislodged, with some parts of the ceiling beginning to separate from the walls. In one image, a hospital visitor can be seen pointing to a gaping crack threatening a critical beam.
According to eyewitness reports, residents felt tremors late in the night as blasting shook the ground beneath the town. Within hours, damage to the hospital infrastructure became evident.
“The whole hospital trembled. Patients panicked, and cracks appeared almost instantly. Some rooms are no longer safe,” said one community member present at the scene.
A local councillor told ZimEye, the miner has been doing open shaft mining which is illegal.
A local WhatsApp group captured the unfolding concern. Messages from users including “Gen Ghoghie” confirmed that a team, including local councillors, visited the site early in the morning to assess the extent of the damage. The group confirmed that residents were demanding an immediate stop to the mining activity, citing safety concerns.
Legal voices in the chat pointed to Statutory Instrument 109 of 1990, which explicitly prohibits mining operations within a 500-meter radius of public infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. “This blasting is not just irresponsible — it’s illegal,” one message stated. Concerns were also raised over the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), further suggesting that the operation may have proceeded without proper regulatory approval.
“This is a health facility, not a war zone,” another resident exclaimed during a community meeting. “They’re trading lives for minerals.”Authorities are now under mounting pressure to immediately halt all blasting operations and declare the hospital building a protected zone. Calls have also been made for the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to launch an investigation, and for the police to issue a temporary work stoppage while assessments are carried out.
There is no word yet from the Ministry of Health on whether the hospital will be evacuated or if emergency renovations will be funded. However, activists are demanding urgent intervention to prevent what they describe as “an avoidable disaster in the making.”
