A gold mining expedition in Gem district on Wednesday ended in tragedy when a 42-year-old man died in the caves. George Odhiambo was in a group of miners excavating the precious mineral before the walls caved in. His colleagues escaped death but Odhiambo suffocated after efforts to rescue him failed. Gem DC Abdirizak Jaldesa said the incident occurred at 4pm. He said the body was removed to the Yala Sub District Hospital mortuary. Jaldesa said Odhiambo hailed from Gombe sub location, Gem district.
He regretted that despite numerous awareness campaigns by his office over the dangers posed by illegal gold mining in the region, some individuals continue to defy the warning. The provincial administrator warned that those who would be found illegally excavating minerals in that area would be arrested and arraigned in court.
The incident is the second after two women died in similar circumstance in December last year when they were excavating gold from the same spot. The Siaya district Nema official Anne Owino said mining in the area was banned last year and wondered why the activity was still taking place. “We did an environmental assessment test and realised that the method the miners were using was crude hence imposing the ban,” she said.
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