At least 33 lead miners in Nigeria have died in what is believed to be a carbon monoxide leak, and dozens more have been injured and hospitalized.
Foreign news agencies reported on February 18, 2026, that at least 33 Nigerian miners have died, believed to be due to a carbon monoxide leak inside a lead and zinc mine in Plateau State, in the central part of the country.
The tragedy is believed to have occurred before dawn at a drilling site outside the town of Wase, operated by the mining company Solid Unity Nigeria Ltd.
Officials speculate that toxic gases leaked and accumulated underground inside the poorly ventilated tunnel, causing the workers to lose consciousness and collapse near the end of their night shift.
Their bodies were found by a group of workers arriving for their morning shift. More than 20 other miners were rescued and rushed to the hospital for urgent treatment.
Local security officials have cordoned off the mine and are investigating the cause of the leak.
However, state officials have not yet inspected the area, and reports indicate that rescue efforts have been delayed due to security concerns, as the area has seen recent activity from armed criminal groups, locally known as “bandits.”
The Plateau state government issued a statement saying that initial investigations found 33 miners to have died in the explosion inside the mine, but workers at the scene insist that this was not the case.
Safiyanu Haruna, one of the miners who found the bodies, confirmed, “It was carbon monoxide that leaked out and killed them… At that time, no one could help them because the group of miners who were supposed to come for the morning shift hadn’t arrived yet.”
