SAGADA, Mountain Province – A 40-year old pocket miner died after he accidentally slipped and fell inside their small-scale working area simultaneous with the explosion of the dynamite they lighted inside the tunnel at barangay Fedelisan here recently.
Senior Superintendent Oliver Enmodias, director of the Mountain Province Provincial Police Office, identified the fatality as Bol-ing Umaybas, 40, married, a pocket miner who is a resident of barangay Aguid, Sagada, Mountain Province.
“The victim’s head was separated from his body after the explosion of the dynamite which they lighted inside their working area,” Enmodias stressed.
Initial police investigation showed the victim, together with fellow small-scale miners, entered their working area and lighted the dynamite fuse in order to break big boulders of rocks just to get the gold ore as they ran for safety outside the tunnel.
Unfortunately, Enmodias said the victim slipped on his way out of the tunnel that caused him to fall inside their working area simultaneous with the dynamite explosion causing the rocks that were broken part to inflict serious injuries on the different parts of his body and his beheading.
The victim died on the spot because of the gravity of his injuries while his companions were able to escape unhurt and were the ones who rescued him from inside the tunnel before being brought to the local hospital.
The police official disclosed the small-scale tunnel where the victim worked has no actual permit from concerned government agencies and the local government unit, making their operation illegal.
He called on personnel and officials of the Cordillera office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB-CAR) to conduct the needed investigation in order to control the proliferation of numerous small-scale mining tunnels in the area that pose a serious threat to the stability of mountain slopes where small-scale mining activities are being undertaken.