251 now dead in Zamfara poison tragedy •Residents flee •Govt votes N240m to fight spread
THE death toll of the lead poison that occured in Zamfara State has risen to 250 even as the number of people hospitalised has gone up to 450. Many of the residents of the area have started running to other places to prevent falling victim of the tragedy that has befallen their people...
This is coming a week after a similar incident in Kaduna led to over 500 people being hospitalised.
More dead bodies were discovered on Saturday as officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders, a non-governmental organisation stormed the small village of Yargalma in Zarumai district of Bukkuyum Local Government Area to rescue the victims of the mining disaster in the area.
Speaking in an interview, a journalist who resides in Bukkuyum but who pleaded for anonymity, said the situation was alarming and outrageous.
Narrating the incident to the Sunday Tribune, he disclosed that the situation started about a month ago “when several of our people who went to the mining sites in search of gold were killed as a result of the explosion of the landmines”.
According to him, “the landmines were buried in almost all the mining sites and these people suspected to be illegal miners just stepped on the landmines and it exploded with them”.
Other sources revealed that the emission coming from the explosion was so severe that children living at the vicinity of the sites gave up the ghost on inhaling it.
Sunday Tribune findings revealed that most of those that died at the mining scene were children between the ages of five years and 10 years.
The people of Bukkuyum according to Sunday Tribune investigations are now living in fear of the unknown.
As at the time of filing this report, people residing around the mining sites had started leaving to neighboring towns of Anka, Gummi and Jangebe.
When contacted, the state commissioner for information, Alh. Adamu Tsafe, remarked that government was aware of the situation stressing that “we will address you (press) on Sunday after we have gathered all the necessary information”
It would be recalled that recently a health official reported that about 163 people died as a result of inhaling poisonous substance from mining sites. According to the official, out of the number, 113 were children, while 350 were hospitalised.
Meanwhile, the Zamfara State government has voted about N240 million naira to control the ravaging spread of poisonous emissions that has so far killed about 250 people in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Saiad Idris disclosed this at a press briefing in Gusau on Saturday.
He said the state government was being supported in curtailing the scourge by the Federal Government, World Health Organisation and development partners from the United States, Holland and others.
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