46-year-old gold prospector George Odhiambo Okoth died instantly while five of his colleagues were injured when a mine they were excavating in Rarieda Uyore village in Siaya county collapsed on them on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.
Police in Siaya confirmed the incident after picking up Odhiambo's body from the mine where he died.
Siaya OCPD Benedict Mwagangi said the body has been removed to the Siaya morgue.
The miners were prospecting for gold from an abandoned pit latrine belonging to Ambrose Odongo and Eric Ouma. The latrine-turned-gold mine is located opposite Rarieda Uyore primary school in Alego/Usonga.
The gold prospectors were on an expedition during the wee hours of the night when the tragedy happened.
The survivors who were equally injured, managed to excavate the debris and retrieved the body of Odhiambo before they were rushed to Siaya referral hospital.
Three miners were treated and discharged from Siaya Hospital while the other two are still nursing injuries.
A survivor who sought anonymity told K24 Digital that they arrived at the private mine at 10 pm and started excavating for gold.
He said the mine shaft caved in at around midnight and buried George Okoth who was 20 feet deep into the pit latrine that hosts the gold deposits.
The minor further said that they were pushed to undertake the dangerous excavation because of poverty.
“It’s the high cost of living that is pushing us to venture into mining for a living,” the survivor said.
“Odhiambo who hails from Kochieng B in Central Alego had on Monday visited her auntie at Kakum Kombewa only to meet his untimely death five hours after the visit," he added.
According to the eldest daughter of the deceased, her father left home the previous day to join colleagues on the mining expedition.
“We received the sad news of my father’s death at 2 AM. He was doing the job to get my school fee and now that he is no more, I don’t know who will support me through Education,” she said.
The tragedy shocked the villagers who could be seen gathering in groups and discussing in low tones.
Most gold mines in Siaya County are illegal and do not meet the required safety measures.
Siaya has hit headlines over tragedies at gold sites.
The recent one was the Abimbo tragedy where several were buried by debris.
The body of a miner trapped since December 2, 2021, at the Abimbo goldmine in Bondo, Siaya County, was retrieved after seven months.
Tom Okwach's body was retrieved seven months after he and seven others were trapped inside the mine when the walls of the shafts they were digging in collapsed.
Okwach was one of the 10 miners who were trapped in the Abimbo mines on December 8, 2021.
Two other miners they were with on that day were able to run out unhurt. Six other gold miners were rescued alive.
