Nigeria rescuers dig for trapped miners

Kano, Nigeria: Nigerian rescuers were trying to dig out about 30 miners trapped when a pit collapsed killing at least one person after torrential rain...

Kano, Nigeria: Nigerian rescuers were trying to dig out about 30 miners trapped when a pit collapsed killing at least one person after torrential rains, emergency officials said on Wednesday.

Dozens of miners employed by a local company were working late Sunday in a huge artisanal pit in central Niger State's Shiroro district when it fell in, Abdullahi Baba Ara, head of SEMA state relief agency, told AFP.

"More than 30 miners are trapped in the pit which collapsed on them as they were working inside," Ara said.

A SEMA report said one person had died and six had been rescued with severe injuries.

The exact number of trapped miners was not clear and rescue officials were struggling to reach the area due to threats from heavily armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits.