Tragedy struck a village in Siaya after three artisanal miners died following the collapse of an abandoned gold mine in Nyaguda Sub Location, Bondo.

According to reports, the mining shaft collapsed on Tuesday, April 1, around 6 pm, while the three were busy conducting mining activities inside the site.

Following the incident, residents, mostly fellow gold miners, rushed to the scene and began the process of retrieving the three, only to find them dead.

A local village elder disclosed that the miners were attempting to reopen the abandoned site when it unexpectedly collapsed, trapping them beneath the debris.

"In the evening, I received a distress call from my fellow village elder informing me that three people had been buried inside a mine. When I arrived, I realized that the three were buried while they were in the process of reopening the abandoned mine,” narrated the village elder.

The bodies of three men, aged 21, 33, and 35, all from the same village, have been taken to Bondo County Hospital, where they await a postmortem examination.

This is not the first time miners have lost their lives under such circumstances.

The latest incident occurred less than three weeks after six female gold miners perished when a prohibited mine collapsed in Lumba Village, Rarieda, Siaya County.

Lumba Village Chief Caroline Oginga confirmed the tragedy, revealing that the women had been repeatedly warned against mining at the site.