Illegal mining, 6 dead, others injured

Abiodun OBA     |

A mining pit collapsed at Zawan Community in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau on Tuesday.

Six persons out of over 50 persons inside the mining pit died when it collapsed; others were rescued with various degrees of injuries.

Mr Gwottson Fom, Member representing Jos South Constituency in the State House of Assembly confirmed the incident on Wednesday.

Fom said that the ages of the victims ranged from 20 to 27, describing the incident as “sad and unfortunate.’’

The lawmaker noted that the victims died engaging in illegal activity.

“We know that these young persons died carrying out an illegal activity but it is obvious unemployment led them into doing it.

“People go out of their way to do things considered illegal just to fend for themselves and their families.

“This is not time to apportion blames but it is sad and unfortunate that a community will lose six youths in a day,’’ he said.

Fom called on illegal miners to desist from the act and engage in other acceptable ventures.

“If people must engage in mining activities, they should do it the right way. They must ensure they are licensed to do it,’’ he advised.

An eye witness and Youth Leader in the community, Mr Emmanuel Gyang, described the incident as devastating, saying it was the first of such incident in the community.

According to him, over 50 persons were inside the mining pit when it collapsed on them, while others were rescued with various degrees of injuries.

Gyang said that the corpses had been buried, while the injured were currently receiving treatment at Our Lady of Apostles Hospital, Zawan.

“This is the first time we are experiencing such ugly incident in this community.

“It is a devastating situation; losing six youths in one day is really sad and a monumental loss,’’ he lamented.

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