By Andrew Wasike
Nairobi, Kenya (AA) – The bodies of six gold miners who were trapped after a tunnel caved in on Tuesday have been retrieved.
The miners at Kopa Hill Goldmine located in Nyatike of Migori County in western Kenya who had been calling for help went silent on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Migori County police commander Joseph Nthenge told Anadolu Agency that "the last body was removed from the mine early today on Thursday. All the miners have been identified."
Locals blame the county government for the deaths saying the search-and-rescue teams were ill-equipped. Four of the nine who perished in the mine belong to the same family.
In a statement, Nyatike MP Tom Odege said: "The government had been very slow to send rescue teams on the ground thus dimming our hopes to find the miners alive."