Liberia's leading gold mining company, Bea Mountain Mining Company (BMMC) through its Health & Safety Department has refuted claims that more than forty (40) persons died during mining at the company's operational site.
According to the Safety Manager of the company, Mr. Shadrach O. Fahnbulleh, at no time did 42 persons died during mining operation at the company as claimed by some media institutions.
Mr. Fahnbulleh noted that upon the incident, a quick rescue operation team was set up and ensured that those involved in the accident were sent to the site clinic to speedily intervention as the health of the workers needed to be attended to.
The Head of the Health & Safety Management further stressed that the incident that occurred was not a landslide as claimed by the media but rather pieces of stones that fell from above upon them during the mining.
Mr. Shadrach O. Fahnbulleh expressed sorrow over the incident and the company's condolences to the family of the one person who died and maintained that despite being saddened over the incident, there were not more than three workers underground as reported by some media outlets.
"There was a new shift that took over that Tuesday evening when three of our workers including two foreigners and a Liberian were placed in a mining train machine to go and change the face of blasting because it was not blasting. While charging the face, pieces of stones fall leading to the death of a Liberian identified as Thomas Haines and two Turkish who got badly injured," he added.
At the same time, the Head of the Health and Safety Management of Bea Mountain Mining Company has disclosed that very straight and secured safety measures have been put into place to avoid the reoccurrence of such incident.
Also speaking, the Town Chief of Kinjor, Mr. Zinnah Diablo termed as tarnishing the reputation of the credible company something he said is not good, especially among Liberians.
Mr. Diablo in an angry mood said the number of people who died as reported in the media is false and misleading adding that there have been no more than five persons underground. He described media institutions that are bend on reporting negative information to the public about the incident as being untruthful to the public and the people of Bea Mountain Mining Company.
The Kinjor Town Chief however, stressed that it is the first of its kind to see such horrific scene but pleaded to the company to ensure proper safety measures been prioritized and that the safety of other employees is considered.
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It can be recalled that on October 17, 2023, three workers of the company were sent underground the mining site to crosscut during the mining process. According to the company, two Turkish (Muzatter Cengiz, Bagi Caba) and a Liberian (Thomas Haines), while crosscutting pieces of stones fell thus, resulting to the death of the Liberian while the two Turkish nationals sustained major injuries.
Accordingly, media outlets in Monrovia have reported that more than 40 workers died during the underground mining at the site, a claim the company has vehemently denied.
Bea Mountain Mining Corporation (BMMC) is Liberia's first and largest commercial gold mine that is committed to exploring, discovering and creating new opportunities for Liberians and leveraging the talent of employees to contribute to a sustainable future for the communities they dwelt and Liberia at large.
