In the wake of two mining pit deaths at Moonlight Backdam, Kamarang, Region Seven, a Ministry of Labour team visited the area and shut seven camps temporarily, two of which have since been allowed to reopen.
A Ministry of Labour release noted that on August 2, 2023, 38-year-old Trayon Hastings of Kamarang Landing, Upper Mazaruni; and his employee, 20-year-old Rocky Norton of Isseneru Village, Middle Mazaruni were working in the mining pit when it suddenly collapsed and buried them.
Mark Embelton, a 37-year-old miner who was in a nearby camp, noticed the mining pit caving in and raised an alarm. A search party was immediately organized, and with the help of two excavators, the motionless bodies of the two men were finally retrieved early on August 3rd.