President George Weah
LIBERIAN PRESIDENT, George Weah has declared Monday, February 18, 2019, as a day for national mourning for the 40 miners which lost their lives in that country.
The miners reportedly met their tragic deaths after they were buried alive in a mudslide after a goldmine collapse in Gbanipea, Tappita District, Lower Nimba County.
In Liberia’s Executive Mansion press statement sighted by DGN Online, the Liberian leader said Liberians and foreigners within Liberia’s borders needed to come to terms with the huge catastrophe and show sense of empathy to the victims and their families.
According to the statement, the President declared the affected area a “National Disaster Zone”, ordering the national security apparatuses to isolate the area, provide security and prevent illicit mining.
The Executive Mansion is Liberia’s seat of Government based in the capital, Monrovia.
A technical committee headed by the country’s Internal Affairs Minister, Varney Sirleaf, the statement said, was ordered by the President to work with the National Disaster Management Agency to move as quickly as possible to the affected area, conduct intensive search for possible survivors and render appropriate assistance to affected families and communities.
Already, the Liberian leader has deployed units of the Armed Forces of Liberia to the disaster zone to assist with the rescue and recovery efforts, it said
President Weah is calling on national and international organizations and development partners, mainly the United Nation, ECOWAS, European Union, United States, China and other friendly nations having expertise in disaster management to join the technical team set up to bring needed relief to individuals and families affected by the disaster, it added.
BY Melvin Tarlue