At least three miners were killed after a shaft collapsed and trapped them at a gold mining site in Savane area, Kakamega county.
The incident happened on Saturday, December 6, evening in
Wangoto village, police said.
It is the latest in a series that have happened in the past
months at gold mining sites, police said.
Police said the group had ventured into the shaft to dig out
gold proceeds when the walls collapsed.
Other miners rushed to their rescue in vain. They retrieved
the bodies of the three minutes later.
Police said those killed were identified as Brytone Wendo, 18,
Elvis Shamora, 25 and Joseph Amuhaya, 26.
The bodies were moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy and investigations.
This is the latest such incident to happen in the area amid operations to address fatal accidents at the gold mining sites.
Police say dozens of people have died at the gold mine sites
in various places in the country. The sites are in Siaya, Migori, West Pokot,
Moyale, Kakamega, Nandi and Transmara.
Officials say some of the miners venture to the sites with no
protective gear.
The investigations have, among others, blamed greediness for
the tragedies.
This has exposed them to the dangers at large, as hardly a
week passes before the miners are killed. There is an ongoing campaign for the safe
mining of the products.
Dozens of villagers venture into the shafts, some of which
are deep, to dig out the precious product for a living.
The incident came after four people were killed and 25 were injured in a clash between government officials and locals during a public participation
exercise in Kakamega on Thursday.
This was after a group opposed to the exercise attacked the
meeting with crude weapons. Among those injured were police officers and
officials from the National Environment Management Authority.
Police later arrested 56 people over the attack in a dramatic operation.
Some locals have opposed the planned mining of gold deposits
by an international firm amid efforts to solve the standoff.
Meanwhile, police are investigating an incident where a 16-year-old boy was found
dead after a suspected murder in a village in Macalder, Migori county.
The
incident happened on Sunday in Got Orango area, police said, adding his body was
found in a compound of a neighbour.
The body did not have any visible injuries when it was discovered. It was moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy and investigations.
