Two miners were killed after gold mining sites separately collapsed in Siaya and West Pokot Counties.
These are the latest
such tragedies to happen at gold mining sites amid an operation to address the menace
that has led to the loss of dozens of lives.
The latest incident
happened in Kambi Karaya, West Pokot County, on Sunday evening.
Police said after a
long search and rescue mission, multi-agency teams managed to retrieve one
female body.
The body was buried in a tunnel where the victim had ventured to extract the gold.
The other incident had happened on June 14 in Akala, Gem, Siaya County, after a gold mine collapsed, trapping several individuals inside.
Police officers responded to
the scene and discovered that Stephen Owino Wanyumba, 24 and a miner, had died
instantly when the tunnel collapsed.
At least five other miners
managed to escape the scene.
The bodies were moved to the
mortuaries pending autopsy and investigations.
Last week, on June 7, at least four people were killed while five others were injured after a gold mine collapsed at Karon village in West Pokot County.
The injured were rescued and rushed to hospitals in the area.
West Pokot sub-county Deputy County Commissioner Wycliffe Munanda said the miners had ventured into the pit around 3:00 a.m. when the pit caved in, burying them under the debris.
The miners had returned to the site at night using picks and hoes, unaware that the soil had become loose after excavators had dug the pit during the day.
Gold mining is still rampant in several parts of the country despite warnings that the sites are unsafe.
Such incidents are common in gold mining sites amid calls for safety measures to address them.
The miners are accused of using heavy machines to excavate the products, which weakens the walls, hence the collapse.
West Pokot is among those with gold deposits and hence attracts residents who venture there to make a living.
Similar incidents have also been reported in other parts of the country, including Lirhembe village, Ikolomani in Kakamega County, and another in Manyatta village, Vihiga County.
To deal with some of these challenges, the government has also directed those involved in mining activities to stop operations for the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to conduct an environmental impact assessment to give the ecological guidelines before mining operations can resume.
