Three persons have been confirmed dead following the collapse of another mining pit in the Adunu community in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State.
This was confirmed by the director-general of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NISEMA, Abdullahi Baba’arah, who said some other trapped victims have been rescued through community efforts.
Daily Intel gathered that the incident occured at an illegal mining site that attracts mostly women and children from the community.
The state chairman of Miners Association of Nigeria, Yusuf Shuaibu, told newsmen that the pit caved in around 10am, trapping an unconfirmed number of workers.
He added that the association had mobilised a team for on-the-spot assessment of the scene of the incident with support from the government of Niger State.
This tragedy is coming just a few days after a mining pit collapsed in Galadima-Kogo, Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.
One life was reportedly lost in the first incident while about 30 others, including the site manager, Alhaji Ibrahim Ishaku, were trapped, with about six rescued.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake led a team on a rescue mission to the site.
The permanent secretary of Niger State Ministry for Mineral Resources, Alhaji Yunusa Mohammed Nahauni blamed the management of the mining company for the collapse.
The commissioner said the collapse was due to lack of compliance and synergy between the mining company’s management and the community.
