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Picture courtesy: 44 Mine workers trapped under collapsed gold mine, 30 missing and 20 confirmed deaths.
(The Post News)- At least 44 people remain trapped underground following a gold mine collapse, 30 others are missing, and 20 confirmed deaths has occurred on Monday, June 3, in north central Nigeria, as local authorities and residents reported.
The incident took place in a remote area of Niger State after heavy rains softened the soil.
This site was also mainly known for its informal mining activities.
North central Nigeria is rich in minerals, but corruption and poor working conditions are common in mining activities in these remote areas with less governance presence.
Emergency services have been dispatched to the horrific scene, but the difficult terrain and limited access to the mine were also challenges.
According to Abdullahi Arah, the head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, in a preliminary report, the first responders on site had to run for their lives as the mine kept falling inside.
Accessing the trapped workers has been a challenge, as has expanding the deep pit to locate workers as rescue operations resumed, stated Ibrahim Hussaini, emergency services spokesperson.
“When you have something almost as tall as a three-story building down into the ground, how will an excavator get to that place?” Hussaini asked.
Family members of the trapped mine workers gathered near the site of the incident, anxiously watching rescue operations as they removed the remaining debris and awaiting their loved ones’s fate.
As rescue operations continue to take place, safety standards and regulatory oversight are in question once again because corruption and poor working conditions are common in Niger’s state, Shiroro district.
According to Auwal Suleiman, the brother of Yakubu Galkogo, Yakubu had worked in the mine for the first time on the day it collapsed, leaving his wife and two children worried about his fate.
Suleiman pleaded with the government to dispatch more emergency services and equipment to rescue those still trapped underground.
“There is a lot of tension here,’’ he said.
As temperatures drop and night falls, rescue operations continue to work tirelessly against time. As the hours go by, hopes for a successful rescue are becoming desperate, but the solution remains outright.
Authorities are yet to confirm any fatalities on site or identify the workers trapped inside the collapsed gold mine.
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