Explosion
Four die, many others injured in another explosion at Niger mining site
Four people are dead and several others were injured an explosion at a mining site in Sabon Pegi, in Mashegun Local Government Area of Niger State.
The miners were said to have resumed on Sunday when the explosion occurred at the mining site.
Indeed, residents of the community indicated that poor handling of explosive devices by mining companies could have caused the explosion, although the cause was yet to be ascertained.
Although the number of casualties is still to be ascertained, four bodies were already recovered from the explosion site.
A residents said: “The explosion occurred when the miners were just resuming work in the morning. Everybody is afraid to go close to the area for now because nobody knows what will happen next, especially when we don’t know what must have triggered the explosion that shook the entire village.
“People were just running into the bush because initially, they thought the explosion was from the hydroelectricity dam in the area because it was very loud. It was later that we were told that the explosion occurred at the mining site at Sabon Pegi in Mashegun local government area which shares a border with some villages in Borgu local government area.”
Another resident said although there is a history of terrorist activities in the area, however, he stated that “this very incident has nothing to do with terrorists. Serious mining activities are going on in that particular village, and it has been a long.”
The state government and othet security agencies are still being expected to issue statements on the incident.