Gold mine site collapses and kills miner in Awendo, Migori County

A miner died after a gold mine pit collapsed in Kanyasrega village in Awendo, Migori county on Wednesday evening.

Police said Gordon Oluoch, 32, was in the pit alone while his colleagues pulled out the gold deposits he had dug out when it collapsed and trapped him.

He died in the pit before he was rescued. The body was retrieved and moved to the mortuary.

This is the latest such incident to happen in the area, which has deposits of gold and attracts locals to venture into it to make a living.

Dozens of miners have died in similar incidents in Siaya, Kakamega, Moyale, and West Pokot amid a campaign to make the sites safer for mining.

The miners are accused of using heavy tools to excavate the products which weakens the walls, hence the collapse.

To deal with some of these challenges, the government directed those involved in mining activities to stop operations and for the National Environmental Management Authority to conduct an environmental impact assessment to give the ecological guidelines before mining operations can resume.

But the miners ignore the orders and venture into sites deemed unsafe. At least one miner is killed weekly at the sites, officials say, decrying lack of cooperation from local leadership.

Meanwhile,  in Kapsoya, Naiberi, Uasin Gishu county, a wrestling game between two South Sudanese nationals turned tragic when one of them fatally stabbed his friend in a rage.

Deng Junior, 17,  had been wrestling with a 19-year-old fellow citizen when they differed on Wednesday night, police said. 

The assailant was angered after he was floored and dashed to the kitchen, picked up a knife and stabbed, Deng killing him.

The suspect escaped with the knife as neighbours responded to the scene.

Deng was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police said.

The body was preserved in the mortuary pending postmortem as the hunt for the assailant goes on, police said.