Fifteen people illegally mining for gold at an abandoned state-run gold mine in southwest Nigeria were buried alive by a landslide, press reports said Wednesday.
The illegal miners were trapped underground at the site near Atakumosa in Osun State, several newspapers reported citing council chairman Joshua Ogunleye.
Ogunleye told the newspaper The Guardian the illegal miners had been warned not to go to the mine and called on the Nigerian government to deploy security agents to such sites.
A spokesman for Osun State police contacted by AFP Wednesday declined to comment on the incident -- LAGOS (AFP)
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