Three survivors rescued on Wednesday, December 8, have come out to narrate the ordeal following the Siaya gold mine collapse that occurred on December 2.
Speaking to a local media station, Jack Onyango, Philip Ogutu, and Benard Ochieng shared their traumatising stay inside the collapsed mine - for a total of six days.
Ochieng revealed that he and his colleagues were squeezed between rocks since they had to live in a very small space - leaving them with bruises.
''When we were buried in the sand, we were unable to get space, we were squeezed, the rocks were bruising us," he stated.
Ogutu noted that the area was closed leaving no space for air, however, they hid until the rescuers came to their rescue.
Onyango revealed that while trapped below the rubble, they survived on dirty water from the underground relying on a hosepipe that came from the ground above, he additionally added that they used the pipe to communicate with the rescue team
“I am pleading with my fellow youth to stop going into shafts to mine because what I have experienced and lived to tell the tale, I will quit that work because it is very dangerous,” Onyango remarked.
He added that this was not the first time a mine shaft had collapsed on him, the first incident being in January of 2021 but added that he escaped because the hole was shallow.
They recounted that the thoughts of their families gave them the hope to cling on. Onyango however admitted that he had lost hope in the hours preceding his rescue.
According to the doctor who provided first aid treatment, the three are now out of danger. One miner is still trapped is in the process of being rescued.
