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No fewer than 38 miners have died in a gas explosion at a mining site in Company Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State. The explosion rocked the mining site between 7:30 am and 8:00 am on Wednesday.
The acting traditional ruler of Bashar district, Aliyu Adamu Idris, confirmed the incident to AFP.
“It is true that so far 38 people are confirmed dead. About 27 others have been to hospital,” said Idris.
A youth leader in the community, Shafi Sambo, told Channels TV that the miners involved were youths mining Zinc on behalf of a company said to be a Chinese-owned mining firm operating in the area.
“It happened at a mining site in Company Zurak, Wase Local Government. We got information that the miners dug deep into the ground and were exposed to a gas that killed 37 of them instantly,” said Sambo.
Sambo added that Nigerian Army troops were deployed to the site following the explosion and that the soldiers sealed off the area to restrict entry, minimise risk and control the situation.
Wednesday’s incident comes four days after a mining pit collapsed in Enyim Agalegu, a community in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, killing no fewer than three people, leaving four others injured.
