By MN Reporter

Over 50 households at the Osiri Matanda Gold Mines in Migori county have been forced to relocate after their houses were destroyed by earth tremors this morning.

The makeshift shelters which are mainly used by artisanal gold miners were folded by the an aftershock of what they termed as a an ‘ underground movement’ which left visible gaping cracks in the region.

Residents here say they were alerted by what they thought was an earth quake and scampered for safety only to return and find their houses swallowed .

Some , oblivious of the dangers that they were exposing themselves to, had opted to refill the deep cracks with soil to save their hoses.

Moses Owigo who is among the affected families said he felt some underground movement but thought it was the normal mining activity taking place…minutes later, he saw part of his house sinking.

Owigo said he’s lost his goods worth Kshs.1.3 million.

Osiri matanda gold Miners chairperson Kephas Ojuka said they; are currently staring at a disaster in waiting and urged those in affected regions to consider moving to safer ground.

Ojuka said it’s the first time they’re experiencing such an incident adding that they’ll take the necessary safety precautions to save lives.

Matanda informal settlement have a population of close to 20,000 people majority of which do underground mining.

The miners are now appealing to the National Environmental Management Authority ( NEMA) to assess the place and advice on the next course of action given that it’s the bread basket of the region.