Killer mines: Six buried alive from collapsed gold mine in Migori County

On lookers at a Ronda quarry in Ronda estate, Nakuru. [Kipsang Joseph/Standard]

Grief stricken villagers used bare hands, shovels and hoes as they battled to reach six miners buried alive and feared dead in a copper pit in Nyatike, Migori County.

The villagers also used mattocks and hammers to dislodge huge stones that fell on the six as they sheltered from rain inside a cave in the mineral rich sub county, where over 50 people have died in the past two years.

The tragedy struck on Tuesday evening as the miners were preparing to leave the mines after a day’s work.

"They had climbed out of the deep mines and were preparing to leave for home when a heavy downpour forced them to shelter inside one of the caves. Heavy boulders and soil triggered by the rains fell on them," said Gilbert Ocholla, Chairman of Nyatike Copper Miners group.

He added: "We are praying that we find them alive but hope is vanishing very fast, given that we have not heard any sound from underneath the cave."

He said the victims were aged between 30 and 50 years.

Mining activities were all suspended across Majengo village as locals worked hard to reach their buried colleagues.

There was a glimmer of hope at around 11 am after some Chinese nationals prospecting for gold in the area arrived with explosives and blew up a huge rock that had fallen on the cave. Some of the rescuers  scampered  for safety but  quickly returned.

But even after blowing up the rock, rescuers could not find any trace of the victims.

"We spotted  a pair of blood stained  sandals in the rubble, a sign that some of the victims could be dead. We however remain hopeful that they are  still alive,"  said  a digger, Javan Okeyo as he shoveled earth from  the pit, his  shirt tied around his  waist.

 A man operating the only excavator on site, his brow glistening with sweat, worked overtime, scooping soil and boulders from the cave to create room for rescuers.

Migori Governor Okoth Obado, who joined rescuers early yesterday morning said their hopes of finding the six alive, were fading.

Obado called for help from the National Government, the National Youth Service and the Military, saying local rescuers had no equipment to do the work.

"This is a disaster of  profound proportions. We need urgent help  to save the lives of these  people  in case they are still alive.  We only have one excavator and this is not  enough," said  Mr  Obado.

He appealed to miners in the area to exercise great caution while prospecting for the minerals.

The governor noted that the miners still used crude mining methods that exposed them to lots of danger.

Relatives of those buried in the cave camped around it, praying and weeping as they held onto hope of finding their loved ones alive.