Emmanuel wise Jipoh
Reports from Kokoya District, Bong County, say rescuers have retrieved one body from tons of mud after a landslide that wept into an unauthorized goldmine.
About four men were looking for gold grains on Monday, July 18, 2022, in a pit roughly 2 meters (6.5 feet) deep at an unauthorized mine in the district when a landslide plunged down surrounding hills and buried two.
Clark Negbah, age: 39, got killed, while Friday Cole, 43, sustained major injuries.
Survivors Jerry Johnson and Siafa Corneh narrate that while gathering materials at about 12:58pm local time, they heard Jerry Johnson shout, “Friday Cole, watch out! The dirt is breaking”, but it was too late for him to escape.
They attempted to rescue their two colleagues, but only Friday Cole came out, while Negbah remained trapped and later died.
However, a 15-man jury headed by a local authority Mr. Sumo Kollie claimed that the neck, joints and left arm of the victim were broken, but and ruled out any foul play.
Illegal mining activities are common in Liberia due to poverty, and this has now become a source of income for thousands of unskilled and unemployed Liberians, mostly young people.
Such practices by illegal miners not only cause irreparable harm to the environment and the ecology but put their health at risk.
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Meanwhile, authorities of the Liberia National Police (LNP)have taken seized of the situation, while the Ministry of Mines and Energy has been informed about the latest incident. Editing by Jonathan Browne
