A miner met an untimely death on Monday after the pit he was working in collapsed at the Konawaruk backdam in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni).

Reports are that the miner , whose name was given as 22 year-old Handel Payne , called “Daggie” was working in the pit at 35 miles Konawaruk with others when its walls collapsed.

The man’s body was later pulled from the pit while another man was rushed out of the area to the Mahdia hospital for treatment.

There have been several fatal mining accidents at Konawaruk in the past ; the area was said to have recorded the worst mining related accident in the country’s history when 10 persons were covered in a pit in May 2015.

The authorities have been calling on the miners to place greater emphasis on safety.