Rescue operations were underway at Osiri Matanda gold mining village in Nyatike, Migori County, after several houses collapsed into underground mining shafts, with two residents suspected to be trapped.
The incident occurred shortly before midnight when the ground reportedly gave way beneath buildings in the mining area, sending residential apartments and commercial structures into the shafts.
Migori County Government Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Natural Resources CEC Member Edwin Omondi said the county’s Disaster Management team was on the ground at Matanda Mines in Macalder, Nyatike Sub-County, responding to the mining cave-in.
“Two residents are suspected to be trapped. Rescue teams are working tirelessly,” Omondi said.
The county urged members of the public to keep away from the scene to allow rescue teams to conduct operations safely.
Kefas Ojuka, chairman of the Small-Scale Gold Miners Association in Nyatike, said the exact number of people who were inside the affected houses when they collapsed had not yet been established.
Ojuka said the incident happened at around 11pm when many residents were asleep.
“Commercial houses, including a hotel and a gaming lounge, sank into the ground,” he said.
He said no survivor had been retrieved from the rubble by the time of his statement, as residents awaited heavy machinery and specialised equipment to support the rescue effort.
The collapse has left families and residents waiting for information about people who may have been inside the structures when they sank into the mining shafts.
Rescue teams remained at the scene as efforts to establish the extent of the collapse and locate those suspected to be trapped continued.
Police are expected to give an official statement on the situation when the rescue operation is completed.
