An estimated 20-30 Opal Miners in Ethiopia’s Delanta District have been trapped in a small cave since it collapsed on February 8th.
Opal is a lucrative gem in Ethiopia, with miners going to great lengths to access opal seams which form in between rock cracks.
Rescuers consisting of local villagers have resorted to using their hands to dig at the soil covering the nearly half a mile long mining tunnel, as machinery cannot traverse the area’s steep road.
Furthermore, although rescue efforts are well underway, villagers claim the status of the miners is ‘difficult to know’ although they have undertaken moving the soil in shifts.
