"Catastrophic": Over 100 dead in gold mine collapse in Africa
A landslide at a mine led to a disaster. Rescue efforts are ongoing, some of the miners who were at the site are still buried under the rubble. Footage is difficult to watch.
More than 100 people were killed in the collapse of a gold mine in the Central African Republic (CAR) last Tuesday. The victims include citizens of both the CAR and neighboring Cameroon. Search efforts are ongoing, and the final death toll remains unknown.
The landslide occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the village of Zamboye, near the border with Cameroon. Gervais Gnagourou, a Red Cross volunteer involved in the rescue operation, told the AP news agency that over 100 bodies had been recovered from the mine, a figure confirmed by a senior official from a local mining union to Reuters.
"The ground collapsed completely and buried people," said Cedric Mbango, a miner at the site, who described the incident as catastrophic.
Authorities in the Central African Republic have launched an investigation into the incident. Rescuers are continuing their efforts to recover bodies and search for survivors. Authorities in Cameroon's eastern region confirmed that at least three of their citizens have been identified among the deceased. Gregoire Mvongo, the regional governor, stated that he is working in close cooperation with colleagues from the CAR to manage the aftermath of the tragedy.
The local news site Corbeau News warned that the use of heavy machinery, such as tractors, in the rescue and extraction mission could endanger those potentially still alive under the mass of earth. The exact number of people present in the mine at the time of the collapse remains unknown.
Small-scale mines, often operating without proper permits, are common across various parts of Africa. Despite legal prohibitions, high unemployment continues to drive men to work in abandoned or unused mines to earn a living. Notably, 40 people had already died in mines across the Central African Republic since the beginning of this year prior to this disaster.
