KANO, Nigeria, June 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Nigerian rescuers were trying to dig out about 30 miners trapped when a pit collapsed killing at least one person after torrential rains, emergency officials said on Wednesday.

Dozens of miners employed by a local company were working late Sunday in a huge artisanal pit in central Niger State's Shiroro district when it fell in, Abdullahi Baba Ara, head of SEMA state relief agency, told AFP.
 
"More than 30 miners are trapped in the pit which collapsed on them as they were working inside," Ara said.

A SEMA report said one person had died and six had been rescued with severe injuries.

The exact number of trapped miners was not clear and rescue officials were struggling to reach the area due to threats from heavily armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits.

Minerals such as gold, tantalite and lithium are mined in the area.
Rescue operations were also being hampered by limited equipment due to difficult terrain.

"We had planned to deploy to the area, but we were asked not to by security personnel due to the insecure nature of the area as a result of presence of bandits," Ara said.

Shiroro is one of several districts in Niger state terrorised by bandits, who raid remote villages in northwest and central Nigeria to loot as well as kidnap residents for ransom.

Six people were kidnapped in the area on Sunday and another 20 abducted nearby on Tuesday, according to the SEMA report.

Last year, Niger state government banned mining activities in Shiroro, Munya and Rafi districts due to insecurity and safety concerns.

But artisanal miners ignored the ban and continued to mine to raise money for food and other essentials after bandit raids displaced many from their homes and their farmlands.