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Namayingo, Uganda—Rescue workers cleared heavy mud with picks and shovels early Tuesday following a structural collapse at an informal gold extraction pit in the eastern district.

The accident killed at least five workers immediately when thousands of tons of earth shifted and fell into the main access shaft. Ground instability created by weeks of heavy downpours contributed directly to the sudden trench wall failure. Local emergency responders reached the scene shortly after colleagues alerted authorities about the trapped team.

Unregulated pits line the local landscape, drawing hundreds of low-income day laborers into dangerous subterranean tunnels daily. Artisanal operators routinely dig without timber supports, ventilation shafts, or standard safety equipment. Site managers vanished immediately when the structural walls caved in around mid-morning.

First responders uncovered three bodies during the initial hours of hand-digging before rain halted heavy excavation attempts. District authorities deployed a single motorized excavator to clear debris, but narrow access tracks delayed its arrival at the rim. Family members gathered along the perimeter fence to watch recovery efforts while officers kept crowds back.

Survival chances drop sharply as air supplies inside the lower galleries deplete under heavy soil compaction. Police officials confirmed that an unknown number of miners remain sealed inside the deepest lateral tunnels. Emergency medics established a triage post on-site to evaluate any survivors pulled from the dirt.

Regional police spokespersons stated that law enforcement had warned local site operators twice this year about illegal digging risks. Regional inspectors lack sufficient personnel to monitor hundreds of improvised mines scattered across rural zones. Enforcement sweeps rarely stop operations for more than a few days before diggers return.

Subsurface water accumulation continues to undermine the remaining earth walls around the active excavation trench. Heavy equipment operators slowed digging after earth movement threatened to cave in the upper access zone entirely. Field personnel are installing temporary wooden braces to stabilize the trench rim before descending deeper into the pit.

Local administration officials opened an inquiry into the property owner and site supervisors linked to the illegal shaft. Homicides unit detectives began taking statements from surviving surface workers and equipment handlers. Search teams plan to continue excavation through the night as rain persists across the district.