Four people were trapped in the rubble during the illegal gold prospecting in Galaorol district of Jizzakh region Tuesday, the press service of the provincial police department said. Two people died on the spot, two were taken to intensive care with fractures and other bodily injuries.
According to the department, residents of Avliyo village mined ore in the mountain at a distance of 7-8 km from the village. The collapse occurred when they were at a depth of 12-15 m.
The report notes that in recent years, several people in rich-in-gold Galaorol district have been prosecuted for illegal mining of gold ore.
In the first half of 2020, about 200 people were detained in Uzbekistan for illegal gold mining. In 2018-2019, 220 such facts were detected.
Small scale gold prospecting was allowed from March 1, 2019, with three-year artisanal digging permit being available for by both legal and natural persons and subsoil plots of not more than one hectare and a starting value of 7.5 million soums offered since then at not very gold-rich land plots.
