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Three people are reported to have died on two mining sites not restored by miners, near Bétaré-Oya, in the Lom and Djérem division of the East region.
According to the lone bilingual daily in Cameroon, Cameroon Tribune of Thursday, March 22, 2018, the first drama took place in a village called Dokolo, at about 6pm.
Here, two victims were caught under rubble. They include a local resident and a Central African national. “Two people were removed and taken to the Bertoua Regional Hospital, where they are under treatment. Three other victims are at the Betare-Oya hospital,” the newspaper said.
The third death of the day was recorded in another mining site in Mbal, not far from Bétaré-Oya, we learnt.
The name of the victim is Augustin Dokou, of Central African nationality. Here, five other people were also caught in a mine. They took turns in the yards, looking for gold nuggets. The administrative and municipal authorities of the city rescued the victims after descending to the two disaster sites.
In the east and Adamaoua regions, mining companies involved in mechanized crafts and industrial mining are abandoning open mine sites, contradicting the environmental clauses contained in their specifications in accordance with mining code.
According to the specifications that regulate the artisanal exploitation authorizations, “miners are to rehabilitate a site by putting back soils into the mines”.
In addition to the recorded deaths, the residents of these open and abandoned mine sites are exposed to several environmental problems, including water pollution, the destruction of rivers, agricultural fields, etc…
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