At least five people were killed and several others injured when an informal gold mine collapsed in northern Kenya, a local official reported. The Hillo subsistence gold mine, near the Ethiopian border, had been closed by authorities in March after several fatalities resulted from clashes over access to the site. Despite the closure, miners continued to dig in the area.
On Monday evening, around 1,000 people overpowered security forces and invaded the mine, according to David Saruni, Marsabit County Deputy Commissioner. “They dug at an abandoned site which collapsed and buried five bodies that were recovered,” Saruni said late on Tuesday.
Village elder Alio Guyo reported that nine bodies had been recovered from the rubble, including five Kenyans and four Ethiopians. This incident follows a similar tragedy in May, where five miners died under comparable circumstances in Hillo.
