Rescue operations are underway in Zamfara State, where a massive boulder crashed onto an illegal mining site during heavy rainfall, killing at least 18 people and leaving dozens more trapped, local sources told AFP on Saturday.
The tragic incident occurred on Thursday at an informal gold mining site near Kadauri village in Maru District. The collapse followed hours of heavy rain that loosened the soil and triggered the rockslide.
“We have managed to pull out 18 dead bodies from the pit and five other survivors who sustained various degrees of injuries,” said miner Sani Lawwali, who works in unauthorized pits and took part in the rescue efforts.
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According to Lawwali, a dozen miners remain trapped underground, their condition still unknown. “The process is slow and laborious as we use our bare hands to chisel the end of the boulder to make holes for limited access into the pit,” he explained.
Rescuers have appealed for heavy equipment to aid the operation. Lawwali noted that they requested a bulldozer from a nearby road construction site, but the company had yet to respond.
Local community leader Abubakar Nabube confirmed the death toll and revealed that most of the victims came from neighboring Maikwanugga and Damaga villages. “If no help comes from emergency agencies soon, none of those trapped would come out alive,” Nabube warned.
Zayyanu Ibrahim, a resident of Kadauri, described the moment of the disaster. “Dozens of miners were working in the pit while it heavily rained outside. A huge boulder at the mouth of the pit collapsed and buried miners inside,” he said, also confirming the casualty figures.
Sani Abdullahi, a local councillor, said authorities are still uncertain about the exact number of miners present in the pit at the time of the collapse.
Efforts to reach officials from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for comments were unsuccessful as they did not respond to AFP’s inquiries.
Zamfara State, an agrarian region rich in gold deposits, has long struggled with illegal artisanal mining. Authorities have repeatedly attempted to curb the practice, blaming it for worsening insecurity in the region. Criminal gangs are reported to profit from the illegal trade by extorting miners and demanding protection fees.
The disaster has once again highlighted the dangers of unregulated mining activities in the region, raising concerns about safety standards and the urgent need for effective intervention by relevant authorities.
