Yola, Nigeria. Rescuers were searching Thursday for dozens of workers trapped when a gold mine collapsed in north-central Nigeria, officials and residents said.
The well collapsed on Monday in the remote Shiroro district of Niger state after heavy rains softened the ground. State emergency services said one person was confirmed dead and at least 30 others were missing. However, residents said up to 44 people were still trapped.
Much of northern Nigeria is rich in minerals, but corruption, illegal operations and poor working conditions are common in mining operations because deposits are mostly located in remote areas with minimal government presence.
Rescuers “had to run for their lives as the mine continued to fall inside,” Abdullahi Arah, head of Niger’s State Emergency Management Agency, said in a preliminary report.
Rescue operations soon resumed, but expanding the deep shaft to locate trapped workers has been a challenge, said emergency services spokesman Ibrahim Hussaini.
“When you have something almost as tall as a three-story building buried, how is an excavator going to get there?” he said.
On Thursday, distraught families watched as rescuers worked to remove the remaining debris.
The mine collapsed on Yakubu Galkogo’s first day on the job, and his wife and two children are very worried, said his brother, Auwal Suleiman.
Suleiman urged the government to deploy more workers and equipment for the rescue. “There is a lot of tension here,” he said.
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