At least four people have reportedly died while another person has sustained critical injuries after a gold mine collapsed in the Lami Nyeusi area of West Pokot County.
The tragedy occurred on Tuesday, December 17, around 5 am while more than ten miners were in the process of extracting gold ores from the strip pit.
Among those who died were three men and a woman while the wounded person is said to have sustained injuries on the limbs.
Confirming the incident, the police revealed that the bodies had been taken to the Kapenguria County Hospital mortuary, similarly, the injured person was rushed to the same hospital.
According to West Pokot County Police Commander Nelson Omwenga, the death toll was likely to rise since there were still more people trapped under the rubble but were yet to be retrieved.
Omwenga announced that the rescue operation presided over by General Service Unit (GSU) police officers was still ongoing to ensure all the victims were removed from the deadly ditch.
The police boss further urged the families of the affected people to exercise patience as the rescue team continued with the process of retrieving their kin.
The West Pokot tragedy comes a week after six people died and ten others were injured after an illegal gold mine collapsed in the Dadel area of Marsabit County.
A police report revealed that the victims allegedly invaded the gold mine which had been shut down for several months by the government due to security reasons.
The Hillo gold mine in Dabel was among the regions gazetted by former Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki in March this year after several people died at the site.
In July this year, two police officers lost their lives at the mining site after over 3000 people encroached on the site, beat the officers and went ahead to mine gold.
Despite attempts by the police to fire bullets at the rowdy residents, the locals forced their way in after pelting stones and using crude weapons to chase away the officers who had been tasked to guard the site after its closure in March.
