According to the State Emergency Management Agency in the Nigerian region, the expansion of the deep pit to locate the trapped workers has been difficult.

On Friday, official sources stated that dozens of workers at an illegal mine in west-central Nigeria remained trapped underground despite rescue efforts.

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The pit collapsed in the remote Shiroro district of Niger state on Monday after heavy rains softened the ground, and rescue efforts were initially hampered by criminal gangs.

Medical sources have already reported the death of one worker, while more than 30 are still missing, while some locals speak of up to 44 men buried, but this figure is still unconfirmed.

According to the State Emergency Management Agency in the Nigerian region, the expansion of the deep pit to locate the trapped workers has been difficult.

The mine collapsed on the first day of work and there is great tension among the families of those buried.

The Shirororo district is reportedly in an area rich in gold, tantalite and lithium, where armed groups also operate, raiding villages and kidnapping residents for ransom.

Artisanal mining in Shiroro, Manya and Rafi districts is banned by the authorities but prospectors continue their work despite the danger of the income it brings them, and the forced abandonment of their farm homes by bandits.

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