So far, authorities have recorded the recovery of only eight bodies out of the estimated 45 illegal miners who were buried underground after the walls of a mining ditch tumbled over them.
The ongoing recovery process seems not to also be making progress because rescue workers, comprising mainly local volunteers and a support unit from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), is said to be engaged in a manual operation to unearth the corpses of the miners.
Coupled with the lack of adequate technology and equipment as well as financial resources to aid the recovery process, Dorwohn Gleekia, who is a member of the House of Representatives for District #6 in Nimba County, the epicenter of the mine tragedy, told reporters Wednesday that rescue workers are also unable to grapple with the pollution caused by the pungent odor from decaying corpses buried underneath the soil.
While the miners were operating illegally, Gleekia believes that the recovery process is on the brink of collapse due to the lack of support from the relevant government authority.
He thinks that the miners are all Liberians and as such every effort must be exerted to exhume their decaying corpses so as to avert the occurrence of a “health disaster.”
Gleekia wants the government, members of the Nimba Legislative Caucus, as well as members of the international community to rally and support the recovery process to bring relief to the families of the deceased.
Illegal mining has become endemic in certain parts of Southeastern Liberia, and past and current governments have affirmed that this activity is depriving the nation of thousands of dollars in
much-needed revenue.
Officials of Rivercess, River Gee and Gbarpolou counties among others, have complained about the increase in illegal artisanal mining activities, with several accounts recalling a growing number of
foreigners (mainly West Africans) who are said to be trooping in and illegally operating dredges in gold-rich regions.
In August 2018, a team of inspectors from the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy along with Joint Security personnel seized a truck and a dredge which were being used by illicit miners in Gbarpolu County.
While the government has vowed to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of this illegal act, others have pointed accusing fingers at some county officials, blaming them for being the masterminds behind the perennial illegal mining activities.