A tragic mining accident has left at least 22 miners presumed dead after a mining pit collapsed in a remote and dangerous section of a national park in Nigeria.
The disaster took place within the Gashaka-Gumti National Park, a protected area that spans parts of both Taraba and Adamawa states, specifically around Gashaka and Toungo Local Government Areas (LGAs).
According to Adamu Jamtare, a miner from Gashaka, the majority of those trapped and feared dead were from his hometown, Jamtare, in Gashaka LGA. He revealed that the miners were extracting gold in the Buffa zone, a high-risk area known for frequent illegal mining activities.
“They were mining gold in an area known as the Buffa zone within the Gashaka-Gumti National Park, covering parts of both Gashaka and Toungo. All 22 miners trapped in the pit are presumed dead,” he said.
Engineer Suleiman Toungo, the chairman of Toungo LGA, confirmed that five bodies had been recovered so far but noted that the actual number of miners still unaccounted for remains unclear.
The miners reportedly came from various regions across Nigeria, including Zamfara and Adamawa, and had been operating under difficult and covert conditions due to the presence of rangers who patrol the area.
Despite the efforts to enforce protection within the national park, illegal mining has continued, often taking place at night to avoid detection. Tragically, this site has seen multiple fatalities over the years due to such unregulated mining.
A resident of nearby Tila village reported that approximately 70 miners lost their lives last year in similar incidents, though many of these incidents go unreported.
Adamawa Police Public Relations Officer SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje confirmed recent reports of mining-related fatalities. In one recent collapse, four miners were killed, and in another, two lost their lives while four others sustained injuries.
SP Nguroje emphasized that law enforcement is working closely with Gumti National Park officials to identify and apprehend those involved in illegal mining activities.
