An illicit gold mine collapsed in northern Kenya, killing at least five miners, authorities confirmed on Saturday, May 26.
The Hillo mine in the Dabel district, near Kenya’s border with Ethiopia, collapsed on Friday due to a landslide. According to Marsabit County Police Commander Patrick Mwakio, the miners perished on the scene after being engulfed in rubble.
No more miners have been discovered, and it is unclear whether anyone else was lost in the fall.
Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki declared the region unsettled and prohibited mining activity in March, following violence over a mining dispute that killed seven people.
The mining activities also violated the law since no environmental impact assessment was performed, and the tunnels were regarded as fragile and on the verge of collapse. Residents informed media outlets that mining persisted after the March prohibition, and they criticized officials for permitting it.