Three illegal miners perish in collapsed mine in Bong

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A body of a dead miner retrieved a mining site in David Dean Town [photo: Selma Lomax]

At least three bodies of illegal gold miners have been retrieved from a collapsed mines site  in David Dean Town in Kokoyah Statutory District, Bong County.

Liberia Public Radio national correspondent in Bong County said the incident occurred on Saturday December 11, 2020.

Our correspondent added that six others were said to have died following the incident , which occurred on the night of Friday.

At least 16 persons are being searched for underground at the collapsed mine in that part of Liberia.

Rescue efforts were already underway at David Dean Town, where the incident happened.

“We are yet to discover the number of people trapped inside,” a police officer told local media in Bong County

A local Mines Inspector in Bong was quoted by Front Page Africa as saying over 10 illegal miners were believed to have been buried alive at the David Dean Town Illicit mining center.

Illegal mining of gold, which poses serious safety risks, is rampant in David Dean Town and results in the deaths of several people every year.

A report by the organization for economic cooperative Development in early 2020 suggested in 2015 Liberia lost US$400 million in illegal Gold mining.

These illegal mining by artisanal miners sometimes lead to deaths as many mines  operated by illegal miners usually collapse and  trap them  underground.

 

 

 

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