Jorquelleh District, Bong County – A gold mine collapsed Friday in electoral district#3, Bong County, killing at least four miners and trapping more than 10 others underground, police in Bong County told FrontPageAfrica on Sunday.
Report by Selma Lomax, [email protected]
The artisanal miners never came back outside Friday from the Jackson Village gold mine after entering the night before, police said.
“We were working underground at around 10:00 p.m. when we heard a noise coming from the other side of the mining shaft,” the miner said. “When we went to investigate, we realized that it was it was a boulder which had fallen on our friends.”
– A Miner
As efforts to rescue the miners continue, authorities cannot confirm the exact number of trapped miners, although four are feared dead, Bong County police commander told FrontPageAfrica.
A miner who spoke to FrontPageAfrica from the scene described how the shaft collapsed. “We were working underground at around 10:00 p.m. when we heard a noise coming from the other side of the mining shaft,” the miner said. “When we went to investigate, we realized that it was it was a boulder which had fallen on our friends.”
A mining agent in Gbarnga attributed the incident to a landslide triggered by heavy rains. “Initially, we thought non-compliance with the legal depths well as prohibited practices of entering tunnels was responsible for the accident. But available information indicates it was simply a landslide. The miners were less than 20 meters deep, while the legal limit is set for 30 meters. So, the main cause of the accident is the heavy rains we have experienced in Bong County in recent days,” the agent said.
The latest incident comes after eight months after at least six persons died in the same gold mine. Jackson Village is a gold rich area in Jorquelleh District, and some men there enter such mines, despite the danger involved.
