More than 40 people are still trapped in Zamfara mining pit and no effort to recover them.

From A .A Chakwa, Gusau

An unspecified number of people trapped under the collapsed mining pit of Kadauri village in Maru local government area of Zamfara state are still under the ground and no effort making to recover their bodies.

Malan Ibrahim Hamida a resident of the area said, at least 20 dead bodies were recovered and nobody knows the actual number of the people currently under the ground but said, those affected comes from three Local government Areas of the state.

“Only God knows the actual figure of the victims because no official register but we learned that most of the people affected comes from Jangebe village in Talata Mafara and other parts of Anka Local government Areas apart from Kadauri people in Maru local government area and they are the minority. The local rescuers among the miners try to recover 20 dead bodies before the rescue mission was interrupted. Ibrahim said.

Mal. Ibrahim also said, the tendency of recovering others alive is very rare due to the negligence of the authorities concerns.

“It’s hard to rescue them alive, we are now counting 28 to 29 hours for them still living beneath the ground and no effort is currently making to rescue them. Mal. Ibrahim stated.

“The way they usually tap the gold is unprofessional and quite okay, they are getting reasonable quality of the gold.

Mal. Ibrahim further narrated what courses the collapsed of the mining pit.

“Those that resulted in the collapse of the mining pit were outsiders from the rightful initiators of the mining pit, in an ideal situation while digging the pit some supporting pillars were to be reserved to hold the surface but some people come in Wednesday night while heavy raining and smuggled themselves to the mining pit where they sow some particles of gold on the pillars, they rushed and started digging it unknowing to others and the mining pit collapsed. Ibrahim narrated.

He also recognized the efforts made by the local miners leading to the recovery of 20 corps and they were in the process of hiring an Ascavetor from the construction company of Sokoto-Zaria express way currently working on the main road few meters away from the mining site to complete the rescue mission before another crisis erupted that led to the burning of LNG tanker to ashes.

“An LNG tanker driver recklessly drive against a Golf driver who is from Kadauri village, the car driver rushed and overtook the tanker while reaching the miners he notified them that, the tanker driver attempted to killed them on the road, the miners blocked the road but he refused to stop and one of the miners shut at the tire of the tanker and it missed it way to the bush, the tanker driver escaped but the miners man chatted his passengers and set the tanker ablaze. Adding that,

“This horrible incident resulted in the stopped of the rescue mission of the trapped miners under the mining pit. Ibrahim lamented.

When contacted the chairman of Maru Local government, Hon. Bello Muhammad Jabaka requested to travel to the Local government Headquarters to meet him brief us on the incident but later shunted the invitation after we reached the place and likewise, all efforts to hear from the Police Public Relations officer, AP Yazid Abubakar prove abortive.