Four days after miners were trapped inside a gold mine gorge in Naduat, Nakalale Ward, fears are growing that the number of people underground could be far higher than initially reported.
The six miners are believed to have been trapped on Friday after the gorge collapsed, triggering a rescue operation led by local residents familiar with the difficult terrain.
Security officers, Turkana County Government officials and the Kenya Red Cross have visited the area as efforts continue to establish the extent of the incident.
Turkana County Police Commander John Tarus confirmed that the gorge collapsed and two people survived the incident.
“We do not know the exact number of people who are still trapped inside. The rescue efforts are still ongoing,” Tarus said.
The actual number of people missing in the Naduat gold mine incident remains unclear because members of the community have not come forward to provide the full number of those who entered the mine.
Tarus added that residents have been reluctant because of fears that the government could move to shut down mining activities in the area. That even some survivors who emerged from the mine did not want to be identified or cautioned and later disappeared, making it difficult for authorities to establish the true number of people trapped underground.
A Kenya Red Cross team from Lodwar travelled to Naduat on Sunday to assess the situation and support the rescue operation. Turkana County Branch Coordinator Rukia Abubakar was among officials who visited the site.
But as of Monday, no survivor or body had been recovered from the collapsed section, leaving families and residents waiting anxiously for news.
Local residents now say the initial figure of six could be misleading, with some claiming more than 20 people may have been inside the mining area when the incident occurred.
“We are worried that the number could be more than 20. People were working in different sections of the mine, and we cannot say with certainty that only six people were trapped,” said John Ekitela Louren, a resident of Naduat involved in the rescue efforts.
Another resident, Mzee Aletia, said the situation required urgent intervention before more time was lost.
“This is now the fourth day. We need specialised equipment and more rescuers here because we do not know how many people are still underground,” Mzee Aletia said.
The rescue operation has been complicated by the unstable terrain and the structure of the mining site, forcing local residents to take a leading role in attempts to access the affected section.
Residents have continued digging and clearing debris while authorities assess how best to reach the trapped miners without putting rescuers at further risk.
With four days already gone, pressure is mounting on authorities to deploy additional equipment and specialised rescue teams to determine how many people remain underground and whether those trapped can still be saved.
