At least three people have been confirmed dead and four others injured after a mining pit collapsed on Saturday in the Enyim Agalegu community of Ikwo Local Government Area, Ebonyi State, authorities and local leaders confirmed on Sunday.
The tragedy occurred around 4 p.m. at a pit reportedly under the lease of First Patriots Limited, formerly known as Royal Salt where miners were working when the earth suddenly gave way.
Oboke Chukwuma Collins, National Chairman of the Enyim Agalegu Edukwu Opeke Federated Union, said he received an urgent call informing him of the collapse and immediately coordinated with community members to assist at the scene. “We evacuated some overburden on top of some lifeless people, like three of them, and we rescued about four that are injured,” he told reporters.
The injured victims were rushed to a nearby medical facility, though authorities have yet to update their conditions.
Collins revealed that community leaders had previously petitioned both the mining company and the Ebonyi State Ministry of Solid Minerals to release part of the site for regulated local mining once the main operations were completed. Those requests were reportedly denied.
The Commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, Chidi Onyia, described the collapse as “unfortunate,” expressing sympathy for the families affected. He attributed repeated accidents in mining areas to illegal activities and “greed,” noting that the government was unaware the site had been abandoned and that it remains officially active.
This incident brings the total number of fatalities linked to this site in recent times to five, community leaders say, underscoring growing safety concerns in informal mining environments.
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