The Fate of 20 Miners After a Week of Being Trapped in a Mine

Nigerian authorities announced yesterday, Tuesday, that "there is no longer any hope" of finding at least 20 miners alive after more than a week has passed since a collapse trapped them inside a mine. The incident occurred on June 3 in the village of Galkogo in the Shiroro area of Niger State in central Nigeria, where artisanal miners employed by a local company were working. On Tuesday, Ibrahim Auda Husseini, an official from the government emergency management agency, stated that "there is no longer any hope of finding the miners alive. Eight days have passed since they were buried inside the pit." He added that "the rescue operation has not officially stopped, but the families of the trapped miners, who are Muslims, have performed funeral prayers for relatives they consider dead." He explained that due to a lack of equipment, artisans have been called in to dig through the rocks covering the pit using chisels, a slow and laborious process.