Four dead, seven injured after Marsabit gold mine collapses

Four people died and seven others were critically injured after a closed gold mine within the Dabel area in Moyale, Marsabit County collapsed.

The eleven were part of hundreds of illegal miners who Sunday evening sneaked into the guarded mine that is part of the 13 that were closed down by the government in March following clashes between rival groups that claimed seven lives.

The State declared the mines as dangerous and disturbed on March 14 this year.

Security sources say the illegal miners overpowered police officers guarding the site before getting into the mine in pursuit of the precious commodity.

Marsabit Central Deputy County Commissioner David Saruni said the four died on the spot while the rest were hospitalised at Moyale Sub-County Hospital.

"The officers (guarding the site) exercised restraint and shunned using excessive force on them," Saruni said during an interview on Marsabit's Radio Jangwani FM.

No-go zone

Saying the sites remained a no-go zone, the administration warned residents against disobeying the directive saying it was risking their lives and those of the officers protecting the sites.

"Let them wait until requisite measures are in place to prevent the recurrence of what we have witnessed in the past," he appealed, maintaining that the ban remained in force.

Five people died and two others were seriously injured in May this year after a gold mine within Dabel that they sneaked into at night collapsed.

This came amid claims that rogue security officers were facilitating the activities despite the ban, which was meant to prevent the escalation of violence and crime in the area.

Cases of rape, defilement and gender-based violence had been reported in the sites with the government saying armed criminals were facilitating narcotics trade in the area.