4 miners killed after gold mining site collapses in West Pokot

At least four people were killed after a shaft collapsed at a gold mining site in the Kambi Karai area in West Pokot County. 

Police said the incident happened on Thursday, October 2. 

The four were identified as Silas Losenya, 22, Jacob Tsangana,30, Morio Akotopuo, 35, and 14-year-old Lopoghon Lopakar. Other miners escaped the scene unhurt, officials said.

They were buried alive after the mine caved in, witnesses and police said.

The area has gold deposits, and many locals venture there for a living.

Police officers were later dispatched to the scene after receiving an alert from local reservists. 

The bodies were transferred to Kapenguria County Hospital Mortuary. Local officials were scheduled to visit the scene on Friday.

This is the latest such incident to happen at a gold mine site. 

Last week, a miner was killed after an explosion went off at a gold mining site in Masara, Migori County. 

The incident happened on Saturday, September 27, 2025, after an explosion intentionally went off in a tunnel. 

A Chinese manager at the site set off the explosion to excavate gold. By then, all miners had left the tunnel. 

Police and witnesses said that after the explosion went off, one Charles Okongo, 28, rushed into the tunnel with the aim of collecting gold sand. 

It was then that he suffocated therein and was discovered by other miners who had followed him minutes later. 

He was rescued and rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. 

Locals later invaded the site and vandalized property in reaction to the incident. 

They accused the management of destroying property by using the explosives. 

A Chinese national was rescued from the site as a mob bayed for his blood. 

Police said he was arrested pending investigations into the incident. The site is managed by a Chinese company, officials said. 

The Chinese were accused of detonating an unauthorized explosive at the gold mine. 

Such deaths at gold mining sites have been on the rise amid efforts to address the trend. 

Most miners lack protective equipment to enhance their work. 

Officials have been running a campaign to address the menace, which is rampant in Migori, Kakamega, Moyale, Siaya, and West Pokot Counties.

The National Environment Management Authority, police, and local counties are leading in operations to ensure the sites are safe for mining.

The miners usually defy orders to keep off the sites deemed dangerous and venture there even at night.