Liberia is rich in mineral deposits – and full of illicit mines
MONROVIA, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 60 miners, some armed, have been arrested at an illegal gold mine in north-eastern Liberia where around 40 people remain trapped in a collapsed pit, officials said.
They “resisted” a team sent to restore order at the site, said Archievego Doe of the disaster management agency.
Another official described the situation as “lawless”.
Rescuers have so far retrieved seven bodies after the walls of the pit caved in on Feb 10.
Liberian authorities deployed a team comprising the army, police, immigration and drug enforcement agency officials to the gold field in Nimba county, a major centre for illicit mining.
The immigration services were involved in the operation because some of the illegal miners are foreigners, Doe said.
Thousands of people are believed to work in the mine, near the town of Tapeta.
Aubrey Wehye, the district superintendent of the Tapeta region, said the situation was “lawless”, adding that some of the illegal miners were in possession of “Guinean-made shotguns that they fire all night”.
Miners have been searching for the dead and any survivors using their bare hands.
Authorities now plan to use an earthmoving machine to widen the path to the mining pit so that an excavator can reach the site, Doe said. — NNN-AGENCIES
