- Total of 18 confirmed dead and have been buried according to Muslim rites
Thirteen Nigerians were among many people who died on Tuesday as a gold mine collapsed in
Kandango Maradi area, Niger Republic.
Shuaib Mani, Editor-in-Chief, Anfani Radio, Maradi Niger, told Daily Trust that the discovery of gold about seven to eight months ago in the Kandango attracted locals and some Nigerians to the area.
A Nigerian, who identified himself as Abubakar from Zamfara State, said he came in search of greener pasture with his brother, who he said was among the victims and that his parents were not even aware of the incident.
A survivor said the mining holes were carved wrongly.
“The place that can accommodate 10 to 15 mining holes have more than 150 to 200 mining holes. It’s not supposed to be so, and this might be the main cause of the collapse.
“We have many of our colleagues beneath the earth, there are people in all these holes you’re seeing that are yet to be excavated. Those that are receiving the golds are the ones that have been excavated, but the real miners are still inside.”
In an interview with Amfani Radio, the Governor of Maradi region, Abubakar Shuaib, who visited the site, said the incident would be investigated.
He sympathized with the families of the victims and pray that the souls of the deceased
rest in peace.
Mayor of Dan, Issa Adamu Guerau, said: “Th e provisional death toll is 18 people, whom we buried this morning.
“It’ll surprise you that the rate which people lost their lives in a very short time, we’re in the process of taking action, but you know if something is plenty, it is hard to handle.”
For decades, Niger’s gold mines have attracted prospectors, particularly in the western Tillaberi region, now the scene of deadly rebel attacks, and in the north near the Libyan border.
Accidents at these sites are frequent because of soil instability and the outdated methods employed by the miners, according to the authorities.
Several artisanal gold mines were shut in 2017 as part of government efforts to modernise the industry.
Since 2004, Niger has had only one industrial mine at Samira in the Tillaberi region.
First published in Daily Trust