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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan and agencies

Survivors recount panic and struggle to breathe in Nigerian prison cell where 37 died

People gather outside the hospital gate
Family members of those who died gather outside Minna general hospital in Niger state. Photograph: Ibrahim Ndamitso/Reuters

Survivors from a prison cell in Nigeria where 37 suspected illegal goldminers died while in the custody of a paramilitary group this week have recounted their panic and struggle for breath, as police on Friday fired teargas at people protesting against the deaths and imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Minna.

The victims – many of whom were children – were found dead on Thursday in the cells of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), which had raided suspected illegal goldmines and ⁠locked up dozens of miners in the city, the state capital of the mineral-rich state of Niger.

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