Noah Ogweno thought a little bit of effort might pull him out of the debilitating poverty that pushed him to Migori mines in search of gold pellets.

However, this thought almost turned into a grave mistake for the 25-year-old. 

Ogweno was pulled out of the collapsed mines on Sunday afternoon after enduring three days of searing heat, bouts of hopelessness, an empty stomach and a dry throat.

Recuperating at home, Ogweno told People Daily he would never step into the pits again, in spite of not having any other source of livelihood.

Ogweno recounted how he narrowly escaped the jaws of death after the mines walls caved in burying him alive at Kichuri village, North Kamagambo location.

He was pulled out alive on Sunday at 2pm.

The successful rescue operation was conducted by county government and the area National Government Constituency Development offices that donated excavators and rock breakers.

Ogweno, who was treated and discharged at Tabaka Mission Hospital in Kisii County on Sunday evening, said he miraculously survived the incident by God’s grace.

Rock spaces

He said a medical examination had established he did not suffer any internal injury.

“I just sat inside holding my breath, wondering whether I would make it out alive,” he stated.

Hunger pangs and being forced to squat or kneel for hours on end tested his faith.

“Life was unbearable while in the caves,” said Ogweno.

In pitch darkness, he could barely move having been buried under the heavy debris.

He says he stayed between the rock spaces where he could barely sit down comfortably or sleep.

“The area was closed, leaving me in a squeezed space where I could only kneel or sit sideways. It was very hot inside, “ he says, while lauding the rescue team for saving his life.

Ogweno revealed that while he was trapped in the rubble, he was communicating with his colleagues and the rescue team until the day he was rescued.

“I could hear the voices of the people outside the mine. I communicated with them telling them that it was going to be difficult to pull me out using bare hands and asked them to try and get excavators,” he said.

Ogweno, who is a high school graduate, says he was pushed to the mines by poverty and unemployment and it was a last resort after he failed to secure an opportunity to continue his education.

Because of the horrifying experience, he is not planning to go back to the mines where he has worked for more than one year.

“From the experience I went through, I have decided to quit because it is very dangerous. I only pray that I get an alternative job,” he said.

Ogweno hopes the government will create more job opportunities to cushion young people from unemployment and the risks they have to take to eke a living.

Rongo sub-county Deputy County Commissioner Joseph Ng’eny said the miner was rushed to hospital for medical attention after he was rescued.

“The joint rescue efforts begun on Friday afternoon when we received excavators from the government and continued until Sunday when we managed to break through the hard rocks in the mines and pulled out the miner alive,” Ng’eny said.

Abimbo goldmine

He said Ogweno was covered in the mines after its walls caved in due to a downpour in the area.

According to the administrator, rescue operations kicked off after miners at the site raised the alarm that one of their own was missing when they reported for work on Friday morning.

They suspected that he could have been trapped.

Ng’eny told People Daily other miners suspected Ogweno could have sneaked back into the mine on Thursday evening despite safety warnings.

“His (Ogweno’s) colleagues advised him that they suspend activities until the next day because the site was looking dangerous. They suspect he returned to continue mining after they left for the day before the tragedy struck,” Ng’eny said.

The latest incident comes amid the efforts to rescue another miner who was trapped at Abimbo goldmine in Bondo sub-county, Siaya County about one month ago.

Tom Okwach is among miners who were trapped when a mine collapsed last year. Six miners were rescued alive.