NAIROBI, Kenya: A dozen folks had been trapped after a gold mine in western Kenya partially collapsed, police mentioned Tuesday.
Kenya has a small mining sector in comparison with its neighbours. Nonetheless, regardless of fast progress lately, a lot of it’s unregulated with miners having to take care of poor security measures and organised crime teams.
“The knowledge we have now is that there have been round 20 miners on the time it collapsed however eight have been rescued,” mentioned Daniel Makumbu, a county police commander within the Kakamega area advised AFP.
“The search and rescue operation is ongoing and we’re urging the gang to remain away to make the work simpler and keep away from endangering themselves as a result of this space could be very fragile,” he added.
The incident occurred late on Monday.
A report printed by Africa’s Institute for Safety Research mentioned authorized small-scale mining, principally centered on gold, contributed $224 million to the Kenyan economic system in 2022 — round half its mining output — and employed round 250,000 folks.
At the least 5 folks died when heavy rains induced an unauthorised gold mine to break down in Might 2024 within the Hillo space close to the border with Ethiopia.