At least 30 persons have been trapped in a mining pit which collapsed in Galkogo village of Shiroro local government area of Niger State.
It was gathered that the incident occurred late Monday night and that one dead body has so far been evacuated while six persons were rescued with various degrees of injuries.
The State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) confirmed the incident to journalists on Tuesday.
“One person had been confirmed dead, six were rescued with severe injuries, and more than 30 people trapped,” the agency said.
The Director-General of the agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, said that the incident occurred on Monday, June 3.
He said that the agency received a report of a mining site collapse at Galkogo village in Shiroro.
Baba-Arah said that the cause of the mining site’s collapse was heavy rainfall impacts on the soil.
He expressed concerns that the rescuers ran for safety from the site because the site kept falling.
He also noted that the agency had yet to get full details on rescue operations due to insecurity in the area.
He, however, said that excavators had been deployed to the site for the rescue operations.
The DG also said that the agency received reports of persistent bandit attacks in Shiroro and Mashegu local government areas of the state.
He said that the bandits reportedly attacked Adogo Malam village on June 2 and kidnapped six people.
He also said that the suspected bandits kidnapped more than 20 people and stole cattle in Tunga Kawo, an adjoining community from Erena.
