Following the collapse of an illegal gold mine in the Central African Republic, near the border with Cameroon, at least 100 people have been killed. It is the latest in a series of similar incidents in the mineral-rich country.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon (28 Asad) at the Zembouye mine, approximately 50 kilometres from the town of Baboua in the Central African Republic.
Images circulated on social media show part of the ground collapsing at the large open-pit mine, where hundreds of artisanal miners work, burying several people beneath the rubble.
Several local sources said that around 100 people had died in the incident, while others were injured.
Cedric Mbango, one of the miners at the site, told AFP: “The ground completely collapsed and buried people underneath it.” He described the incident as “a disaster.”
The Baboua prosecutor said in a statement that the collapse may have been caused by “the collapse of several underground tunnels where miners were working.” He also announced that a judicial investigation into the incident had been launched.
Laurent Ngon Baba, an elected official from Baboua, told AFP on Wednesday morning that “at this stage, it is difficult to determine the exact number of victims.”
The Cameroon Tribune reported that at least four of the victims were Cameroonian citizens.
Survivors were taken to a hospital in Baboua, while search and rescue operations continued on Wednesday.
Mine collapses are common in illegal and unregulated mining operations in the Central African Republic.
In June, a similar collapse at the Bimbaré gold mine on the Central African Republic-Cameroon border killed dozens of people.
In mid-March, seven people were killed after a mine collapsed in the village of Ngorom in western Central African Republic.
In February, 20 people died in Gordil, in the northeastern part of the country.
Aïcha Pemboura, a researcher with the Central Africa Organized Crime and Violence Observatory project, wrote in an article published in March: “Although artisanal mining in the Central African Republic is regulated, many miners and traders operate without mining permits in unauthorized areas or bypass formal trading channels.”
Writer:Salima Aryaei
