Three Persons Die As Mining Pit Collapses In Ebonyi

At least three persons died on Saturday at Enyim Agalegu Community of Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State following the collapse of a mining pit, reports THE WHISTLER.

Eyewitnesses said the affected site is under the mining lease of First Patriots Limited, formerly known as Royal Salt.

According to the National Chairman of Enyim Agalegu Edukwu Opeke Federated Union, Mr Oboke Chukwuma Collins, the site of the incident was being mined illegally.

In his words, “I received a distress call at about 4pm on Saturday informing me that the pit had caved in on miners. I got a call that the site where people are engaged in illegal mining here had collapsed.”

He said he mobilised community members to the scene, where they removed the overburden covering the victims. He confirmed that three corpses were evacuated in the process.

“We evacuated some overburden on top of some lifeless persons, about three of them, and we rescued about four who were injured.”

He explained that the host community previously wrote to the company and the state Ministry of Solid Minerals, where they applied that the pit be released to them for controlled mining after the company allegedly completed work at the main pit.

He acknowledged that the activity at the site was illegal, adding that efforts to secure approval from the company had been rebuffed.

Quoting him, “We engaged them in writing, even the Commissioner for Solid Minerals, but they said no. The leadership of the community backed off from the agitation. The recent deaths bring the total number of persons who have lost their lives there to five.”

Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Hon Chidi Onyia, has attributed the recurring accidents in mining communities to illegal mining activities driven by greed and the quest for quick money.

He said the government was not in the know that the site had been abandoned. He however admitted that the ministry had received letters from community leaders last year requesting that the company release part of the site to the natives for mining. He said the ministry had responded that it lacked the jurisdiction to grant such approval, “as the land is under a private mining lease”.

According to him, “It is never our interest or intention to lose any of our people. This site belongs to First Patriots. Both the state and federal governments are not aware that this site has been abandoned. The site is still very active.”

Onyia decried how some youths go into the site to mine illegally, and cautioned those sponsoring illegal mining operations to avoid exposing young unemployed miners to such risks while they stay away from the dangers themselves.

The lawmaker representing Ikwo North Constituency, Hon Ifeanyi Nwakpu, confirmed that three corpses had been recovered and deposited in a mortuary, while the four injured victims were receiving treatment in hospital.

In his words, “What I am aware of is three dead persons and four others injured. It is not yet clear whether the victims are staff of the company or artisanal miners.”

He regretted the incident, noting that he had previously advised the company to either close the pit if it was no longer in use or properly secure it to prevent further casualties. He said he endorsed a letter from the community requesting the release of the site to enable locals to remove the overburden and mine it in a controlled manner.

The lawmaker said efforts were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the collapse and whether more persons might still be trapped.

The Chief Security Officer of First Patriots Limited, Eze Stephen, said security agents had many times stopped people from engaging in illegal mining at the site.

“There was a time the company wanted to cover it, but the youths mobilised and came here to stop it. They threatened to cause trouble if the company tried to cover it. They come both at night and during the day. When they are there, you cannot use force because it is dangerous and you do not want them to fall into the water while running and lose their lives,” he said.