Four miners were feared dead after a mining pit collapsed on them last Thursday at Dareta village in Anka Local Government of Zamfara State, about 150 kilometres away from the state capital, Gusau, Daily Trust learnt yesterday. The miners were extracting gold and other minerals hundreds of metres beneath the earth surface when the pit collapsed.The incident occurred at around 1 o'clock in the night as the group was working late into the night in the mine which is believed to be rich in gold, zinc, tantalite and bronze deposits. Friends of the victims told Daily Trust that they have given up hope of rescuing them alive as the men have been trapped underground for over five days.The miners said efforts to rescue their trapped colleagues were hampered by lack of excavation equipment, adding that an oozing stench from the collapsed pit indicated that their trapped friends had since died.They said just before the incident, they had seen signs that the pit was about to cave in, prompting their leaders to warn miners against working in it. They however said four of their colleagues defied the warning and entered the pit when everyone else was asleep.'It was while they were working deep inside the pit that it caved in on them,' said the chairman of Anka Local Government Illegal Miners Association, Alhaji Hassan Anka. 'We were awakened by a loud sound as the pit collapsed.'He said the police, traditional authorities and families of the affected miners have already been notified about the mishap. 'When it became evident that we could not rescue them, we invited their relations and they gave us the go ahead to observe funeral rites for them, based on the strong belief that they have perished,' he said.Daily Trust gathered that over 300 labourers hired by the association worked day and night trying to extricate the trapped men but to no avail, as the depth of the burrow that collapsed on them is said to be big enough to accommodate 20 medium size lorries.Alhaji Hassan gave the names of the trapped miners as Abdullahi Teacher, Mani Bukkuyum, Bello Kofar Maje and Hassan Tungar Kudaku.A survivor who narrowly escaped from the mine said the collapse occurred a few seconds after he emerged from the pit. He said, 'I was working late night alongside members of my group inside the mine. We got tired and decided to go out to the surface and take some fresh air, but the other group said they will not take a rest until day break. Just as we were removing our clothes at the surface, there was a loud crash underneath,' said Baba.Our correspondent reports that the incident is the first of its kind for years in the state, which is endowed with diverse mineral resources that has become a hub for illegal mining activities for both locals and strangers.Last year, about 400 children were killed by lead poisoning resulting from unsafe mineral exploitation by illegal miners.Meanwhile, all attempts to get the reaction of the state government on the incident was not successful as the state's Commissioner of Information Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammad Birnin Magaji was said to be out of the state.However, when contacted, Zamfara State Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Sanusi Amiru, said information available to the police on the accident was still sketchy and he promised to shed more light as details emerge.
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