Prayer kept us going, say miners rescued after six days

When Philip Joel Ogutu left Kisumu two weeks ago to attend a burial in Abimbo, Siaya County, he had hoped to travel back to the lakeside city and continue with his deejaying business, eyeing good earnings in the Christmas festive season.

What the 21-year-old did not know is that his plans would take an almost tragic twist after a relative convinced him that mining could earn him enough money to build a house and run his numerous errands in the festive season. With that, he changed his plans and stayed in Abimbo, looking forward to a fat paycheck.

Instead, he found himself -- for the 150 hours he was underground after a gold mine caved in -- praying that he would emerge alive from his ordeal. He was holed up together with two other artisanal miners in a dark gold mine shaft at Abimbo, Bondo, in Siaya County.

Ogutu can hardly believe he is alive to tell his story.

The artisanal miners were rescued alive at 3am on Wednesday, after close to seven days underground, bringing the total number of those rescued so far to eight.

The three were among 10 miners who were buried in the mine at 11am last Thursday, December 2.

One miner is yet to be found, while another was found dead on Saturday. Two men were rescued the same day the mine caved in, while one was rescued two days later, and two more were taken out on the third day.

In their six-day stay underground, the three young men, who could not tell night and day turned to prayer and worship to keep going. The salty underground water in the mine also came in handy.

"There was no difference between day and night. We would guess it was nightfall when we felt sleepy and would wake up at the sound of crickets," said Victor Otieno, one of the survivors.

Ogutu had worked in the gold mine for only two weeks. 

“I had no experience on how to survive in the mine without water or food," he narrated at Bondo sub-county hospital on Wednesday, where the three men were taken for treatment.

On the day the goldmine collapsed, Ogutu had arrived at the site at 8am in line with the mining rules.

He was asked to join two other men -- Otieno, 20, and Jacob Onyango, 23, -- descending 150 feet underground in search of gold. 

He quickly grabbed his digging tools and headed down, feeling motivated and convinced that the salary he would receive would go a long way in solving some of his problems.

"An hour later, we heard the ground vibrating and immediately knew something was amiss. We all ran towards the entrance but it had been blocked," recalled the lucky survivor.

"My friend Onyango advised that we stay still and wait to be rescued by those who were out of the mines," Ogutu narrated.

What they did not know was that this would mark the beginning of their six-day stay in the mine.

At first, their headlights were of great help and motivation. However, they all went off by the second day, leaving them in total darkness.

"We had also not carried any food or drink, so we kept growing weaker each day," said Ogutu, who revealed that they drank the salty water in the mine. This kept them alive.

They could hear the rescue team speaking from the outside, which encouraged them.

To stay strong, the three shared encouraging words, worshipped and prayed.

"The entire incident brought me closer to God, I have never prayed and worshiped as much as I did while underground," narrated Ogutu.

Otieno, the youngest, said he kept his fingers crossed, hoping to reunite with his parents.

“I don't know if I could have made it if I was alone. Being together kept us strong. We kept reminding each other that we had a purpose to live," said Otieno, who is sceptical he will ever go down a gold mine again.

Onyango, however, was in a similar situation a year ago.

In 2020, he survived a collapsed gold mine in Abimbo together with his cousin. They were lucky to be rescued the same day the cave-in happened.

"This second incident was, however, scary. Initially, I thought we would be saved in two days’ time. At some point I felt like giving up," said Onyango.

His biggest fear was his daughter growing up without a father. Thoughts of his parents depressed by the accident also worried him.

"When the rescue team got to us early today, we were fast asleep, they had to wake us up while shaking and calling out our names," said Onyango.

Otieno’s father, Julius Odhiambo, could hardly hide his joy at reuniting with his son.

The seven days have been challenging and stressful and seeing his son alive was an answered prayer.

"It has been God. He gives life and takes it. I am glad He kept my son safe," he said.

Families had been camping at the site and receiving updates on their loved ones every two hours since Thursday.

When the Nation team visited the men at the hospital, they appeared strong and energetic, except for Otieno, who had breathing problems.

As those who were rescued rejoice, their thoughts and prayers are on the remaining miner, Tom Okwach, 35, who is still trapped underground. He is a father of two.

"We are glad that eight miners have been successfully rescued alive. We have also reported one fatality and are hopeful that the Okwach will also be rescued alive," said Siaya Sub-County Commissioner Mr Richard Karani.

It had been difficult to pass the miners food and water, raising fears that they may be starved and dehydrated. Rescuers were communicating with the trapped men through pipes that went down the shafts.

"We have been trying to use the hole to drop bottled water with glucose to keep them going," said Nobert Aketch, the official spokesman of the artisanal miners.

Siaya County Disaster Management Unit Officer George Aola was delighted about the rescue breakthrough, commending the team for a good job.

"The team has been working tirelessly day and night and we are glad their efforts bore fruits," he said.

The rescue mission was made successful by a team of men drawn from the county, the villages and multi-agency groups.

Victor Odhiambo, one of the rescue team members who is also a miner yesterday said the assignment has not been easy. 

"We had to understand the pathways to locate the survivors. Our headlights helped a lot,” he said.

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