Updated: One killed, 50 trapped as mining pit collapses in Niger

A mining pit collapsed in the Galkogo community, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

The incident has resulted in the death of one miner and left at least 50 others trapped.

The mining site which is said to belong to “African Minerals and Logistics Limited” collapsed after a downpour in the area.

Thediscovererng.com learnts that the mining pit collapsed on Sunday evening, resulting in the death of one trapped miner and injuring approximately six others in the accident.

It has been reported that the site manager, Ibrahim Ishaku, is among those trapped in the collapsed mining pit. Additionally, a middle-aged man and the Chief Security Officer of the mining company, identified as Kuta, tragically lost their lives while attempting to rescue some of the victims.

Meanwhile, six people have been rescued with various degrees of injuries and are presently receiving treatment at a government health facility in the area.

It was learnt that while the manual rescue operation was going on, another portion of the mining pit caved in forcing the rescuers to abandon the rescue operation running for their lives.

As of Tuesday when this report was filed, all 50 miners were still trapped underground, triggering fears that they might have died from the collapsed pit.

The spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Hussaini Ibrahim, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday said information of the incident was still very sketchy.

“Due to the unacceptable nature of that environment as a result of banditry, the information of the incident is very scanty, including rescue operations,” he said.

However, Ibrahim, revealed that excavators had been deployed to the scene for rescue operation.

Meanwhile, bandit attacks on Sunday night resulted in the kidnapping of six individuals from Adogo Mallam village in Mashegun local government area and over 20 people from Tunga Kawo village in Erena ward, Shiroro local government.