The bodies of five miners have been recovered after an informal gold mine, known as the Hillo artisanal mine, collapsed in northern Kenya.
Several other miners are unaccounted for, according to Eastern regional commissioner Paul Rotich.
“Reports from rescuers, police, and our chiefs suggest that at least eight casual miners were inside the mining ground when the walls collapsed and buried them alive,” Rotich explained.
Rescuers moved two injured miners to the hospital, Kenyan broadcaster NTV reported on Saturday morning.
Marsabit county commissioner David Saruni told the press that the site caved in because of the rains.
Floods and landslides have killed several people across the country following weeks of torrential downpours.
Low-scale mining activities had continued despite authorities shutting down the mine near the Ethiopian border in March, after several people were killed in clashes between local communities over access to the area.