Seven people have been confirmed dead while four others are receiving treatment at Bondo subcounty hospital after mine walls collapsed at Lumba Village Rarieda subcounty on Tuesday morning.
The 11 am fatal incident occurred at Kasweto Goldmines in North Ramba sublocation.
Siaya County police commander Cleti Kimaiyo confirmed the incident saying the four survivors were rushed to hospital in critical condition.
Area Member of County Assembly Gordon Onguru who was among the first people at the scene linked the tragedy to weak mine walls occasioned by the use of explosives to crack the stones in the mines around the region.
Rarieda Sub County Deputy County Commissioner Kennedy Lunalo said the miners went against directives that had outlawed mining in the region following heavy rains.
Lunalo said that it has been a challenge for the administration to ensure that the directive to cease mining is adhered to since most homesteads in the area have their mining shafts.
He, however, said that they will continue cautioning artisanal miners in the area to stay away from the dangerous mines to avoid similar tragedies in future.
“We intend to traverse the sub-county to warn our artisanal miners that the mines are dangerous. There was a similar incident a few months ago where we lost two lives not very far from today's incident. We have to act to stop the loss of lives,” Lunalo said.
The seven bodies have since been retrieved and taken to the Bondo sub-county hospital mortuary.
