BY BAYANDA NKATHA
A 42-year-old woman from Hwange is fighting for her life at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo after being attacked by an elephant on Monday.
Loveness Ncube, a resident of Number 3 village, was allegedly picking coal from an old mine dumpsite when the incident occurred.
According to Green Shango Environment Trust director Daniel Sithole, Ncube suffered severe injuries.
According to sources, these include damage to her spine, and was transferred to Bulawayo on Tuesday due to the severity of her condition.
Sithole said the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is assisting Ncube, but the extent of their help is unclear.
However, sources revealed that Ncube faced initial difficulties in receiving treatment at St Patrick’s Hospital in Hwange, as the hospital required a police report before attending to her.
Due to her critical condition, an urgent transfer to Bulawayo was necessary, but it came with a hefty price tag of US$800.
“This emphasizes how urgently the bill needs to be amended in order to assist those who have been harmed by conflicts between people and wildlife. For her transfer to Bulawayo, she is having difficulty raising the ambulance fees. The fact that wild animals have an ambulance but human victims do not have one is shocking. These conflicts will only grow more frequent as climate change becomes more severe.”Green Shango said on X.
Reports indicate that she was eventually airlifted to Bulawayo.
The incident highlights the dangers faced by Hwange residents who venture into disused mines and areas with underground fires to collect coal for energy.
The practice has claimed lives in the past, and authorities have been urged to address the issue.
More details on this story will follow as they become available.