Three die, one injured in another Niger mine collapse
Nearly two weeks after the mine in Shiroro, Niger State collapsed and swallowed over 50 miners, another mine collapsed on Thursday, killing three people and injuring one person.
The state Ministry of Mineral Resources on Thursday disclosed that efforts were still going on to rescue the miners trapped in the Shiroro mine lamenting that they have not received any assistance from multinational rescue firms.
The latest mine collapse occurred at Bazakwoi, Adunu Community, in the Paikoro Local Government Area where the mining pit was said to have collapsed at an illegal gold mining site, resulting in the deaths of the three miners.
Confirming the incident, the Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, disclosed that nobody was trapped and so there was no need for a rescue operation.
He said, “NSEMA has received a report of mining pit collapse at Bazakwoi of Adnun community in Paikoro LGA of Niger State. The incident occurred earlier today, 13th June 2024. It involves local miners who are said to be illegally mining the gold deposit environment scavenging for the mineral.
“As of the time of filing this report, three persons are confirmed dead while one person was rescued alive with injuries. No one was trapped, and as such, there was no search and rescue operation,” he stated.
Our correspondent gathered that a committee assigned by the Ministry of Mineral Resources to reassess the African Minerals and Logistics Limited, owners of the Shiroro mine in which miners were trapped came up with a report saying that efforts were still ongoing to rescue the trapped miners.
“It was unfortunate to note the absence of any multinational rescue teams at the site. The company management is left on their own with the support of the Niger State Ministry of Mineral Resources for supervision and monitoring of the rescue operation,” the committee report stated.
City Round, however, learned that families of the trapped miners had conducted prayers for their relatives believing they were dead. A government official made this known under anonymity, adding that “some families of the victims have held the Muslim seven-day Fidau prayer on Monday.
“The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and the company operating the mining site are using artisanal miners to dig the place. The rescue effort is being done manually. And some families held a seven-day Fidau prayer on Monday for their relations. They believe the victims would have died by now,” the official said.
