Several miners have so far been rescued after a gold mine collapsed at Khayega in Kakamega.
It is alleged that the walls of the mineshaft collapsed at around 6 pm Monday leaving 20 miners who were inside excavating trapped.
A team from the Kenya Red Cross, county disaster, the police and the local community managed to rescue eight of them immediately after the incident occurred.
Several miners rescued after a gold mine collapsed at Khayega in Kakamega. Photo: Courtesy.
According to police, those rescued had no injuries.
Talking to the press, Shinyalu sub-county police commander Daniel Makumbu noted that the search and rescue operations are ongoing until all the miners are accounted for.
He further urged residents to exercise caution around the collapsed area.
“The area around the collapsed shaft is risky and we are not going to allow people to mill near it because we do not want more casualties,” he said.
Incidents of collapsed gold mines have been rampant, particularly in Western Kenya.
In a similar incident in August last year, four people were buried alive after a gold mine collapsed in Kakamega County.
