There is a sense of disbelief in this Sierra Leonean village as people weep in front of the bodies of two teenage boys wrapped in white cloth.
The day before, 16-year-old Mohamed Bangura and 17-year-old Yayah Jenneh left their homes in Nyimbadu, in the country's Eastern Province, hoping to earn a little extra money for their families.
They had gone in search of gold but never returned. The makeshift pit they were digging in collapsed on them.
This was the third fatal mine accident, leaving a total of at least five children dead, in the last four years in this region.
Mohamed and Yayah were part of a phenomenon that has seen a growing number of children missing school in parts of Sierra Leone to mine the precious metal in potentially lethal pits, according to headteachers and community activists.
The Eastern Province has historically been known for diamond mining. But in recent years informal - or artisanal - gold mining has expanded as the diamond reserves have been depleted.
Mining sites pop up wherever local people find deposits in this land laden with riches - on farmland, in former graveyards and along riverbeds. There are few formal mining companies operating here, but in the areas which are not considered profitable, the landscape is dotted with these unregulated pits that can be as deep as 4m (13 feet).
Most families in Nyimbadu rely on small-scale farming and petty trading for a living. Alternative employment is scarce so the opportunity to earn some extra cash is very attractive.
But the community in the village gathered at the local funeral home know the work also comes at a price, with the loss of two young lives full of promise.
Yayah's mother, Namina Jenneh, is a widow and has been relying on her young son to help provide for her other five children. As someone who has worked in the pits herself, she acknowledges that she introduced Yayah to mining but says: He didn't tell me he was going to that site - if I had known I would have stopped him.
When she heard about the collapse, she begged someone to call the excavator driver.
When he arrived, he cleared the debris that had buried the children. But it was too late to save them.
Local child protection activist Sahr Ansumana highlighted the dire economic conditions forcing families to send their children into dangerous mining work. If you ask some parents, they'll tell you there's no other alternative. They are poor, they are widows, they are single parents, he explained.
After the funerals, many miners, including children, returned to work, sifting sand and digging in search of gold, reflecting the ongoing struggle between survival and safety in Sierra Leone's mining landscape. The community continues to plead for help, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable alternatives to prevent future tragedies.
The day before, 16-year-old Mohamed Bangura and 17-year-old Yayah Jenneh left their homes in Nyimbadu, in the country's Eastern Province, hoping to earn a little extra money for their families.
They had gone in search of gold but never returned. The makeshift pit they were digging in collapsed on them.
This was the third fatal mine accident, leaving a total of at least five children dead, in the last four years in this region.
Mohamed and Yayah were part of a phenomenon that has seen a growing number of children missing school in parts of Sierra Leone to mine the precious metal in potentially lethal pits, according to headteachers and community activists.
The Eastern Province has historically been known for diamond mining. But in recent years informal - or artisanal - gold mining has expanded as the diamond reserves have been depleted.
Mining sites pop up wherever local people find deposits in this land laden with riches - on farmland, in former graveyards and along riverbeds. There are few formal mining companies operating here, but in the areas which are not considered profitable, the landscape is dotted with these unregulated pits that can be as deep as 4m (13 feet).
Most families in Nyimbadu rely on small-scale farming and petty trading for a living. Alternative employment is scarce so the opportunity to earn some extra cash is very attractive.
But the community in the village gathered at the local funeral home know the work also comes at a price, with the loss of two young lives full of promise.
Yayah's mother, Namina Jenneh, is a widow and has been relying on her young son to help provide for her other five children. As someone who has worked in the pits herself, she acknowledges that she introduced Yayah to mining but says: He didn't tell me he was going to that site - if I had known I would have stopped him.
When she heard about the collapse, she begged someone to call the excavator driver.
When he arrived, he cleared the debris that had buried the children. But it was too late to save them.
Local child protection activist Sahr Ansumana highlighted the dire economic conditions forcing families to send their children into dangerous mining work. If you ask some parents, they'll tell you there's no other alternative. They are poor, they are widows, they are single parents, he explained.
After the funerals, many miners, including children, returned to work, sifting sand and digging in search of gold, reflecting the ongoing struggle between survival and safety in Sierra Leone's mining landscape. The community continues to plead for help, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable alternatives to prevent future tragedies.
