West Pokot – A woman is dead and others remain trapped underground after a gold mine collapsed Monday afternoon in the Kambi Karaya area of West Pokot County, Kenya.
Police received the alert at 5:30 p.m. and confirmed that the deceased woman had been pulled from the debris. Authorities have not confirmed the number of people still missing.
“At Kambi Karaya area, an unknown number of artisanal gold prospectors are believed buried alive,” the National Police Service stated. “One female casualty has been retrieved deceased. Efforts are underway to retrieve any casualties.”
Rescue crews from the National Police Service, Kenya Defence Forces, and Kenya Red Cross were deployed shortly after the collapse and are continuing recovery efforts at the scene.
The incident follows another deadly collapse just ten days earlier in Karon village, located in the Turkwel area of the same county. In that case, four miners died after a pit caved in around 3:00 a.m. on June 7. Emergency workers recovered their bodies later that day.
Both collapses have intensified public concern over the conditions of unregulated artisanal mines in the region. West Pokot County has seen a rise in small-scale mining due to high demand for gold, but oversight remains limited.
Local residents told authorities that miners had entered the shaft in Kambi Karaya earlier in the day. The collapse occurred without warning, burying those inside under tons of loose earth. The terrain in the area is known to be unstable during rainy seasons, which experts say may have contributed to the pit’s failure.
Humanitarian teams are providing support at the scene as families await updates. Officials have not released the identity of the deceased woman pending notification of her family.
Calls for tighter safety enforcement continue to mount as search operations stretch into the night.
