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No fewer than 30 miners are reportedly trapped at a mining site in Galkogo Community, in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, and are feared dead.
It was reliably gathered that one of the mining pits belonging to African Mineral and Logistics Ltd.
Speaking on the incident, a source who pleaded anonymity said, “The pit caved in after a torrential rainfall on Sunday and several of the Miners were buried underground.
From what we gathered, the site manager of the mining company, Ibrahim Ishaku was one of those trapped.
“We also learned that a middle age man simply called Kuta who was the chief security officer to the mining company died while trying to rescue some of the victims.”
“While the villagers were trying to rescue the miners suspected to have been trapped, another portion of the mining pit caved in and the villagers took to their heels and left the victims to their fate. Because of the second pit that collapsed, it is suspected that no fewer than 30 of the miners must have been buried underground,” the source said according to Vanguard.
The Public Relations officer of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NSEMA, Mallam Hussaini Ibrahim confirmed the incident in a statement issued in Minna but could not give the exact figures of the casualties.
“The mine site belongs to a company named “African Minerals and logistics limited” and the collapse was as a result of the rainfall impacts that soften the soil.
“Due to the unacceptable nature of that environment as a result of banditry, information on the incident is still very scanty including rescue operations but we gathered that one person has been confirmed dead, ,six people were rescued with severe injuries, while about 30 others which include the site manager, Ibrahim Ishaku were still trapped as of yesterday,” the PRO declared.
Reacting to the incident, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, yesterday said that his Ministry has swiftly mobilized Federal Mines Officers and officials of the Mines Inspectorate to the site and that seven victims have been rescued.
Alake said active monitoring of the situation and assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s resolve to investigate the remote causes of the disaster in order to prevent a recurrence in the future.
