Four Miners Killed After Goldmine Site Collapses in West Pokot’s Lami Nyeusi Area

At least four miners were killed after a goldmine site they were working on collapsed in Lami Nyeusi area, West Pokot County.

The police said the tragedy happened on Tuesday, December 17, around 5 am while more than ten miners were in the process of extracting gold ores from the strip pit.

Police said mining activities had been banned at the scene due to safety reasons.

But miners sneak there to get gold to sell for a living.

One survivor with a broken leg was rushed to the referral hospital in Kapenguria after the incident.

The bodies were discovered by rescuers who rushed to the scene.

Area police commander Nelson Omwenga said they are taking measures to tame such future accidents.

“They get into the tunnels without any safety measure which endangers them,” he said.

It is not the first time that such a tragedy has happened in the area.

Those killed were named as Siware Lochekaruk, 30,

Amoler Domonyang, 30, Kangusar Cheptoiyo, 25 and Samwel Riwongoria.

The bodies were taken to a local mortuary pending autopsy and other investigations.

This is the latest such incident that have affected gold mine sites in recent past leaving a trail of deaths.

The other affected sites include Moyale, Migori, Vihiga and Kakamega.

The sites are among many discovered in the country and where residents venture to make a living.

Officials however say the tunnels where the miners venture are unsafe for their operations.

The officials said the miners were using heavy machines to crush stones in their artisanal activities, overlooking the environmental impact.

As part of efforts to address the menace, government officials have always directed those involved in mining activities to stop operations for the National Environmental Management Authority to conduct an environmental impact assessment to give the ecological guidelines before mining operations can resume.

Nema officials were directed to carry out the environmental impact assessment and give reports at the sites as part of efforts to address the safety measures.

The gold miners are also ordered to seek licenses from all the relevant government authorities before embarking on the work.

They have been told to stop using heavy machinery at the sites.

These machineries make the sites weak and unsafe for the miners.

The majority of the gold mining activities are done by small and medium enterprise miners who have been exposed to unsafe practices in the mining extraction processes.

Those engaged in extracting the precious mineral have always defied government bans on mining, especially during rainy seasons arguing that it is the only activity in the region that enables them to put food on the table.