Gold Mine Landslide in Kenya, 5 People Killed

JAKARTA - Five people have been killed and several others injured in a gold mine collapse in northern Kenya.

Authorities had previously closed the Hillo subsistence gold mine near the Ethiopian border in March after several people were killed in clashes between local communities over access to the area, but miners continued to dig at the site.

About 1,000 men overpowered security forces and stormed the area on Monday night, said David Saruni, Marsabit deputy commissioner.

"They dug up the collapsed abandoned site and buried the five bodies they found," Saruni told Reuters on Wednesday, July 17.

Village elder Alio Guyo said nine people were recovered from the rubble, including five Kenyans and four Ethiopians.

Five miners died in similar circumstances in Hillo in May.