SIAYA, Kenya Jul 13 – Two artisanal miners died on Sunday after a gold mine collapsed and buried them while they were working in Gem Constituency, Siaya County.The incident occurred at Nyandiwa village in Bar Kalare, East Gem Ward, bringing mining activities in the area to a temporary halt as residents and fellow miners gathered at the scene.According to eyewitness Edwin Mboya, who was part of the team working at the site, he heard an unusual sound coming from underground moments before the collapse and immediately raised the alarm.“I was working with the two victims. They were underground while I was outside. As we continued with our work, I heard a loud sound and quickly alerted others,” he said.Mboya said fellow miners responded swiftly and rushed to the shaft in an attempt to rescue their colleagues, only to find them trapped beneath heaps of soil and boulders.Another miner, Silas Kwendo, described the incident as tragic, noting that the victims were young men trying to earn a living through mining.“It is a sad incident because the victims were youths in their prime. However, I urge young people not to lose hope because we are striving to make a living through legitimate means,” he said.The Chairman of the Bar Kalare Cluster Artisanal Miners Association, Maurice Otieno, and association official Francis Ogutu Aremo called on both the national and county governments to support small-scale miners with basic safety equipment.“I appeal to the government to assist artisanal miners with essential protective gear such as gloves, gumboots and helmets,” Otieno said.Aremo noted that the association has consistently advocated for safety standards within mining sites and maintained that the collapsed mine had met the required safety measures.“The challenge is that the two miners were unaware that there was a previously abandoned mine nearby. While carrying out their work, they accidentally broke into it, causing the collapse that buried them,” Aremo explained.Authorities are expected to investigate the incident as concerns grow over safety conditions in artisanal mining operations across the region.