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Four suspected illegal miners have died after a sand excavation pit collapsed at Tangur community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident occurred at about 2:20pm on Tuesday, according to a report by counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama, after troops responded to reports of a sand collapse involving suspected illegal miners along a river line.
“The troops visited the scene and confirmed that four victims had died as a result of the collapse,” Makama reported.
The deceased were identified as Mallam Fahad Aliyu and three women whose identities had not been established at the time of the report. Their relatives recovered the bodies for burial.
During preliminary inquiries, troops engaged the community leader, who reportedly said he was unaware of the illegal mining activities in the area.
Further investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the collapse and the extent of illegal mining activities at the site.
The Plateau incident comes barely a week after 37 suspected illegal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
The deaths followed their arrest during anti-illegal mining operations on September 15 and 16.
The Federal Government has since inaugurated a 10-member independent committee to investigate the Niger deaths, while the NSCDC Niger State Commandant and 20 other officers were suspended pending the outcome of the probe.
The cause of the 37 deaths has not been established. Authorities have ordered investigations and forensic examinations to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
