More than 100 people were killed when an artisanal gold mine collapsed in Central African Republic on Tuesday, a senior official at a local mining association said.
A prosecutor confirmed there had been a mine collapse in the village of Zamboye near the border with Cameroon but said the number of deaths and other details were still being established.
Footage showed miners, mostly young men and women covered in mud, pulling a body from the pit while dozens of other miners and workers were scattered around the expansive site, some shouting for help.
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The prosecutor said in a statement that rescue efforts were continuing and an investigation would be opened to establish the cause and who was running the site.
The death toll is likely to rise since several people were still missing and others were trapped under the rubble, said Bertrand Be Yangué, a member of the Zamboye youth council.
“Finding them alive would be a miracle,” Yangué said. “We are saddened and heartbroken to see young men and women perish after coming to the mines to save their families from despair.”
Cameroonian authorities said they were ready to receive and provide medical care to any injured people who crossed the border.
Small-scale extraction mining supports livelihoods across Africa, but weak regulation and poor safety standards often lead to deadly accidents.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AP)
