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No fewer than 13 persons have been killed in a collapsed mining site in Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State.
Joshua Riti, the chairman of the LGA, confirmed this to journalists on Monday in Jos.
Mr Riti, who expressed sadness over the number of deaths recorded, said the incident occurred last Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the collapsed mining site is located at the boundaries between Bassa, Jos South and Jos North LGAs.
Mr Riti said seven of the deceased hailed from Bassa LGA.
“This is an unfortunate incident, these young people were only out in search of a means of livelihood.
“They went out to put their energies to good use to sustain and meet up with the current economic hardship in the country but met their untimely death.
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“I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones affected by this tragedy,” he said.
Most of the deceased were youths between 18 and 30 years old.
The latest incident in Bassa is coming months after a deadly mining site collapse in Niger State in June occasioned by heavy rainfall which left several miners trapped under the collapsed site.
Mining accidents are prevalent in the country with many involving illegal miners going unreported.
In January, a deadly blast which rocked Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, reportedly killed two people and injured 77 others.
READ ALSO: Senate panel wants Nigerian govt to review mining licence to investors
The Ibadan blast was said to have been triggered by explosives stored by illegal miners, the Oyo state government announced as of the time of the incident.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has promised to tackle illegal miners whose activities often lead to some of the tragic incidents around mining sites in the country.
Despite his repeated promises and efforts to do so, including setting up a special task force named Mines Marshal to contain illegal mininjng, illegal miners are still devising news means to carry on their nefarious activities
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