Tragedy Strikes Sierra Leone: Two Teenagers Die in Mine Collapse

Wed Dec 10 2025 09:08:25 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a heartbreaking incident in Sierra Leone, two teenagers tragically lost their lives after a mining pit collapsed while they sought gold to support their families. The olay highlights the dangerous reality of unregulated artisanal mining in the region.

The small village of Nyimbadu in Sierra Leone mourns the loss of two teenage boys, Mohamed Bangura, 16, and Yayah Jenneh, 17, who died in a mine collapse. Their tragic deaths shine a light on the dangers of artisanal mining, where impoverished families rely on dangerous work to survive. Activists are calling for urgent intervention to protect the lives of children engaged in mining.

There is a sense of disbelief in this Sierra Leonean village as people weep in front of the bodies of two teenage boys wrapped in white cloth.

The day before, 16-year-old Mohamed Bangura and 17-year-old Yayah Jenneh left their homes in Nyimbadu, in the country’s Eastern Province, hoping to earn a little extra money for their families.

They had gone in search of gold but never returned. The makeshift pit they were digging in collapsed on them.

This was the third fatal mine accident, leaving a total of at least five children dead, in the last four years in this region.

Mohamed and Yayah were part of a phenomenon that has seen a growing number of children missing school in parts of Sierra Leone to mine the precious metal in potentially lethal pits, according to headteachers and community activists.

The Eastern Province has historically been known for diamond mining. But in recent years informal - or artisanal - gold mining has expanded as the diamond reserves have been depleted.

Mining sites pop up wherever local people find deposits in this land laden with riches - on farmland, in former graveyards, and along riverbeds.

There are few formal mining companies operating here, but in the areas which are not considered profitable, the landscape is dotted with these unregulated pits that can be as deep as 4m (13 feet).

Most families in Nyimbadu rely on small-scale farming and petty trading for a living. Alternative employment is scarce so the opportunity to earn some extra cash is very attractive.

But the community in the village gathered at the local funeral home knows that the work also comes at a price, the loss of two young lives full of promise.

Yayah’s mother, Namina Jenneh, is a widow and had been relying on her young son to help provide for her other five children.

As someone who worked in the pits herself, she acknowledges that she introduced Yayah to mining but says: He didn’t tell me he was going to that site - if I had known I would have stopped him.

When she heard about the collapse, she says she begged someone to call the excavator driver. When he arrived, he cleared the debris that had buried the children.

But it was too late to save them.

Sahr Ansumana, a local child protection activist, highlights the dire situation, stating that many parents feel they have no choice but to encourage their children to mine.

Despite the tragic loss of Yayah and Mohamed, the day after their funerals, miners including children returned to work, their hands searching through the earth in pursuit of gold.

Komba Sesay, a 17-year-old who aspires to be a lawyer, shared that he mines to support his family. I want to return to school. I’m not happy here, he said.

With government efforts falling short of addressing the crisis, local activists stress the urgent need for real support rather than just prayers. The loss of young lives, they warn, is eroding the potential of an entire generation.