At least 19 people were on Monday evening trapped after a gold mine collapsed in Imachilifu Village, Shinyalu Constituency, Kakamega County.
During the incident, about 8 miners were promptly rescued after continuous digging by members of the community who immediately rushed the victims to the hospital.
The occurrence was confirmed by Shinyalu Member of Parliament Fredrick Lusuli who revealed that those retrieved from the collapsed gold mine had been rushed to the hospital after they displayed signs of weakness.
Lusuli also disclosed that he contacted Kakamega County Governor Fernandes Barasa about the incident and the governor pledged to mobilise more resources for the rescue operation.
While expressing regret over the incident, Lusuli called on the residents including the families of the victims to exercise patience as operations to save lives intensified.
“I'm appealing to the emergency teams to rush to Imachilifu village, Museno area in Isukha South, Kakamega to rescue over 12 gold miners trapped in a gold mine. At this hour,” MP Lusuli pleaded.
“I call for calm and your prayers for the affected artisans as rescue operations intensify to save lives. I have contacted Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa about the incident and we are working together to ensure those trapped are rescued," he added.
Moments later, the Kenya Red Cross Society announced that a multi-agency team consisting of its officers and those from the Kakamega County Disaster Response team had been dispatched to the scene.
Meanwhile, incidents of collapsed gold mines have been rampant, particularly in Western Kenya. In a similar incident in August last year, four people were buried alive after a gold mine collapsed in Kakamega County.
According to Kakamega County Commissioner John Ondego, the miners were operating at an aged mining tunnel and were unlicensed by the county government.
“What they are doing is risking their lives and most of the people here are mostly youth who are doing this work. Due to the unemployment problem, people are putting their hands on anything that can put food on their table,” Ondego revealed.
Ondego went ahead to announce the total ban on mining activities within the county at night adding that stern measures would be taken against those found culpable of contravening the rule.
