At least four people have died in Marsabit County in northern Kenya after an informal gold mine collapsed last week, officials said on Monday, highlighting the risks that countless artisanal miners continue to face as the government struggle to shut down illegal mines across the country.
Benedict Munyoki, the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) of Marsabit’s Moyale Sub-County, where the mine is located, said it was not immediately clear what caused the collapse last Thursday at the site in Hillo, but the investigations are continuing.
Mr Munyoki said that hundreds of miners in the area typically use backhoes to cut deep trenches in the ground in search of gold. It appeared that the wall of one of those makeshift tunnels collapsed, killing the miners; three on the spot, and one died today.
One artisan miner also sustained critical injuries and is fighting for his life at the Moyale Sub-county Hospital, where he is hospitalised.
In March this year, the government, through a gazette notice by Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Administration of National Government, Prof Kithure Kindiki, had conducted an operation to close 13 sites within Hillo, citing state security, economic, and safety concerns, and it is not clear how the mine was able to continue operating.
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