At least five people were reportedly killed and several others critically injured on Tuesday evening after an informal gold mine collapsed in Isiolo.
According to the area police, the Hillo gold mine which is located close to the Ethiopian border caved in while the miners were in the process of extracting the gold ores.
While confirming the tragedy, Marsabit County Deputy Commissioner, David Saruni, disclosed that around 1,000 people overpowered security forces on the said day and invaded the area.
They then proceeded to dig up the area in search of gold, however, several of them were buried after the mine collapsed. A rescue team was dispatched and helped in retrieving the bodies.
"They dug an abandoned site which collapsed and buried five bodies that were recovered," Saruni narrated on Tuesday night.
The area village elder disclosed that the nine bodies had been recovered from the rubble including five Kenyans and four Ethiopians.
In March this year, the former Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki ordered the immediate closure of the mine after several people were killed in clashes pitting several communities seeking to access to the site against each other.
During his announcement, Kindiki stated that the mine was not only operating without proper registration but also posed risks to Kenyans.
“To ensure regularised artisanal mining that meets public safety and environmental standards, the Government has banned all artisanal mining activities as well as unlicensed commercial mining,” a statement from the CS read in part.
However, miners have since defied the orders and continued to dig up the area in search of precious stones.
In May this year, five people were killed and several others went missing after the same informal gold mine collapsed.
According to the local authorities, the mine caved in as a result of long rains that soaked the soil causing a landslide.