Kin keep their fingers crossed as eight gold miners still trapped

Eight artisanal miners were Friday evening still trapped in a gold mine in Bondo, Siaya County, with rescue efforts that had lasted more than 20 hours failing to yield results.

The trapped miners were part of a group of 10 working at the mine in Abimbo village, South Sakwa, when it caved on them at 11 am on Thursday.

Residents who were around during the incident said they heard women working close to the mine scream as the ground trembled.

“We were only able to rescue the two who were a few metres below the ground. For the rest, we were forced to wait for an excavator, which arrived on Thursday evening,” said Mr Mark Anyala, a resident.

By midday, the excavators had to stop digging as the ground had been weakened and kept collapsing. Rescuers resorted to using spades and hands to scoop out the soil.

Families of those trapped were in distress, as dark clouds, gathering over the village, threatened to bring the entire rescue mission to a standstill. Among them was Mr Martin Sikuku, whose 35-year-old son Tom Okwach is among the eight. His hopes of ever seeing his only son alive kept diminishing by the hour. 

Together with seven other families, Mr Sikuku had been camping beside the mining site since Thursday afternoon hoping that his son, buried three metres underground, would be rescued alive.

When Okwach last called home two days ago, he had promised to send him some cash to use for his Christmas shopping.

Mr Sikuku was shocked when a family friend called home on Thursday noon and broke the news that his son had been trapped underground while mining.

"Okwach had joined 10 other men at Abimbo, Bondo sub-county, a few hours before the ground sank, leaving them trapped beneath," said Mr Sikuku. 

He said that before Okwach ventured into mining, he was a boda boda rider but he earned  was meagre, hardly enough to support his family. He changed his occupation eight months ago. 

"Being the sole breadwinner of our family, we are unsure of what fate holds for us, we can only hope he will still be alive," Mr Sikuku continued.

Bad dream

Away from their camping site, hundreds of villagers gathered around the quarry, watching the rescue team lift the loose soil using spades. Once every 20 minutes, the rescuers channelled oxygen to the victims via the pipes they usually use to communicate.

For Mr Victor Odhiambo, the entire incident still sounded like a bad dream, he could hardly believe his 19-year-old son was among those trapped. The third-born son, Victor Odhiambo, had visited his aunt in Abimbo and was about to explore the activity when he became a victim.

"He was learning how to mine and was among those who had been digging 300 metres below the ground," he said, adding the government should put safety measures on mining sites, including barring teenagers from getting involved. 

"The older men at the mining site should be sending the young untrained boys away when they come here, they know nothing about mining and are unaware of the survival techniques."

Bondo sub-county police commander Benedict Mwangangi said the gold mine collapsed at 11 am on Thursday.

"We are suspecting that some of the men still trapped may still be alive, they have been communicating with their colleagues just the way they always do while at work," said Mr Mwangangi.

The two men rescued had minor injuries and were rushed to Bondo Sub-County Hospital. They have been discharged.

Siaya Deputy Governor James Okumbe said the county government had been working closely with the Red Cross and other rescue teams since Thursday evening. “We have two ambulances on the ground. We also donated an excavator, fire engine, fuel and snacks to ensure the rescue team remains on-site.”