- The victims were among a group of miners at the gold mine site when the walls collapsed trapping them.
- Most miners venture into the sites with no protective gear hence the casualties.
Image: FILE
One miner was killed while another was seriously injured when a gold mining site collapsed and trapped them in Lirhembe village, Ikolomani, Kakamega county.
The injured man was rushed to hospital in serious condition following the Wednesday evening incident, police said.
The victims were among a group of miners at the mine site when the walls collapsed trapping them.
The miners were about 200 feet in the tunnel when the incident happened, other victims said.
The deceased was identified as Moses Latiko, 25.
Police were called to the scene and picked up the body to the mortuary pending further actions.
The incident comes weeks after at least three gold miners died after the walls of an underground mine collapsed in Manyatta village, Vihiga.
Police said two others escaped with injuries in the incident. They were pulled out alive and rushed to hospital.
Another miner had a week ago died at a gold mine site in West Pokot.
The site is among many discovered in the area and where residents venture to make a living.
Officials, however, say the tunnels where the miners venture are unsafe for their operations.
The officials said the miners were using heavy machines to crush stones in their artisanal activities, overlooking the environmental impact.
As part of efforts to address the menace, government officials have always directed those involved in mining activities to stop operations for the National Environmental Management Authority to conduct an environmental impact assessment to give the ecological guidelines before mining operations can resume.
Nema officials were directed to conduct the environmental impact assessment and give reports at the sites to address the safety measures.
The gold miners are also ordered to seek licences from all the relevant government authorities before embarking on the work.
They have been told to stop using heavy machinery at the sites as the machineries make the sites weak and unsafe for the miners.
The majority of the gold mining activities are done by small and medium enterprise miners who have been exposed to unsafe practices in the mining extraction processes.
Those engaged in extracting the precious mineral have always defied government bans on mining, especially during rainy seasons arguing that it is the only activity in the region that enables them to put food on the table.
Plans are underway to regulate the activities at the sites.