Nigeria, March 26 -- Panic gripped the residents of Ridawa village in the Ghari Local Government Area of Kano State on Wednesday after a commercial sand pit collapsed, trapping several labourers underground.

Residents said the pit collapsed when the victims were excavating soil for brick-making, trapping them beneath the debris.

The lawmaker representing the Ghari/Tsanyawa Federal Constituency, Sani Bala, told journalists that about 10 workers were unaccounted for and are feared dead beneath the rubble.

While lvillagers and first responders started a manual rescue operation, digging through the debris with local tools, but their efforts were insufficient for the scale of the disaster.

"We need urgent assistance to save those still tra...