By Own Correspondent- Traders who had come to buy bananas for resale and artisana miners could be among those who have not been accounted for following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai, a senior government official has revealed.

Government revealed that the figure of those who have died in the natural disaster is not yet consolidated and known since it is feared that of those reported missing, the majority could be dead and buried under the debris of collapsed buildings and mountains.

Local government minister July Moyo told journalists at a Tropical Cyclone Idai Update meeting with the business community in Harare that government had not yet compiled the exact figures of those who had perished due to the disaster since it was feared that more bodies were yet to be retrieved.

He said:

“….Kopa area is a trading area for bananas and our fears are that there could be traders who could have come to buy bananas. They might also be missing because this was very sudden. Artisanal miners engaged in those areas also could have died, or they could have been visitors. In Ngangu, also because it is a township, we cannot quantify how many people were in that area.”