Five dead, four injured after gold mine collapse in West Pokot

Five people have died, and four others were injured after a gold mine collapsed in Songok Sub-location, West Pokot County, on Thursday night.

West Pokot County Commissioner David Saruni confirmed the incident, saying the mine collapsed last night and trapped the victims underground.

Saruni said the bodies of the five victims were retrieved from the debris and taken to Kapenguria County Referral Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examinations.

He said rescuers rescued the injured and took them to Turkwel Dispensary, where they are receiving treatment.

“The rescue mission moved with speed, and all the people who had been trapped were rescued from the debris,” he said.

The four injured miners reportedly sustained head and leg injuries during the collapse.

Earlier, Songok Location Chief Joseph Korkimul said three men and one woman had died in the incident.

“The exact number of people at the mining site at the time of the incident has been established, and everyone has been accounted for,” Korkimul said.

The chief said the bodies had been transferred to Kapenguria County Referral Hospital mortuary as authorities continued with arrangements for post-mortem examinations.

The incident has raised fresh concerns over the safety of artisanal miners operating in underground gold mines in West Pokot, where mining activities have expanded as residents seek livelihoods from the region's mineral deposits.

Underground mining exposes workers to risks including soil collapse, falling rocks and suffocation, particularly where mining operations lack adequate safety measures.

The latest tragedy comes amid continued gold mining activities in parts of West Pokot, with artisanal miners often working in deep underground pits.

Authorities are expected to establish the circumstances that led to the collapse and determine whether safety requirements were being observed at the mining site.

The injured miners remained at Turkwel Dispensary receiving treatment as authorities continued to assess the situation.

The identities of the deceased had not been released by the time of publication.