At least five miners were confirmed dead after the collapse of the Kilima Pesa gold mine in Lolgorian, Transmara South, Narok County.
Local officials said an unknown number of miners remained trapped underground after a tunnel caved in on Wednesday while they were working inside the mine.
Rescue teams were deployed to the scene, but the operation has been hampered by the lack of specialized equipment needed to access the collapsed underground tunnels safely.
Transmara South Deputy County Commissioner Stephen Odeke said rescue efforts were continuing, although progress had been slow.
He added that the exact number of miners still trapped beneath the rubble was yet to be established.
According to Odeke, a specialized mining rescue team has been dispatched to Lolgorian to reinforce local responders.
The team is expected to arrive with underground search cameras and other sophisticated equipment required to locate and safely rescue survivors.
Police cordoned off the area as the rescue operation continues.
The bodies of the five victims were retrieved from the collapsed mine and taken to the Lolgorian Sub-County Hospital mortuary pending identification and post-mortem examinations.
The tragedy is the latest in a series of fatal accidents in Kenya’s artisanal gold mining sector, where poor safety standards and hazardous working conditions have continued to claim lives.
Kenya has several gold-rich regions, including Kakamega, Migori, West Pokot, Nandi and parts of Marsabit County, where thousands of artisanal miners depend on gold extraction for their livelihoods.
Mining stakeholders have repeatedly called for stricter enforcement of safety regulations, warning that weak oversight and unsafe mining practices continue to expose workers to deadly accidents. Dozens of artisanal miners are killed every year in tunnel collapses and other mining-related incidents across the country.
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