By Premium Times
At least 13 persons have been killed in a collapsed mining site in Bassa, Plateau State, central Nigeria.
Joshua Riti, chairman of the local government, confirmed this to journalists on Monday in Jos.
Riti, who expressed sadness over the number of deaths recorded, said the incident occurred last Saturday. He said seven of the deceased hailed from the Bassa local government area.
“This is an unfortunate incident. These young people were only out in search of a means of livelihood. They went out to put their energies to good use to sustain and meet up with the current economic hardship in the country but met their untimely death.
“I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones affected by this tragedy,” he said.
Most of the deceased were youths between 18 and 30 years old.
The latest incident in Bassa came months after a deadly mining site collapse in Niger State in June occasioned by heavy rainfall, which left several miners trapped.
Mining accidents are prevalent in the country with many involving illegal miners going unreported.
In January, a deadly blast which rocked Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, reportedly killed two people and injured 77 others.
The Ibadan blast was said to have been triggered by explosives stored by illegal miners.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has promised to tackle illegal miners, whose activities often lead to some of the tragic incidents around mining sites in the country.
Despite his repeated promises and efforts to do so, including setting up a special task force named Mines Marshal to contain illegal mining, illegal miners are still devising new means to carry on their nefarious activities.
