Gold Mine Collapse Kills More Than 100 in Central African Republic

ZAMBOYE, Central African Republic —

More than 100 people have died after a landslide collapsed an artisanal gold mine in the village of Zamboye, in western Central African Republic, local officials and aid workers said Wednesday, according to The Guardian.

The collapse happened Tuesday afternoon in Zamboye, about 31 miles from the town of Baboua and close to the border with Cameroon, The Guardian reported. Social media footage appeared to show a wave of sand and earth sweeping over a group of people believed to be miners, according to Euronews.

A local Red Cross volunteer, Gervais Ganagoroh, told the Associated Press that more than 100 bodies had been pulled from the site, and a senior official at a local mining association gave Reuters the same figure, The Guardian reported. A public prosecutor's statement described many more people as trapped beneath the debris but did not give a death count, according to The Guardian.

A second prosecutor in Baboua said the collapse likely resulted from the failure of several underground tunnels where miners had been working, Euronews reported. Laurent Ngon Baba, an elected official in Baboua, told AFP that establishing an exact toll was still difficult as of Wednesday, according to Euronews.

Rescue Effort Continues

Crews were still searching for survivors and recovering bodies as of Wednesday, using heavy machinery including tractors, according to the Central African news site Corbeau News, cited by The Guardian. That equipment could put anyone still alive under the debris at greater risk, the outlet reported.

Bertrand Be Yangué, a member of the Zamboye youth council, said the death toll would likely keep rising as more people were pulled from the wreckage. "Finding them alive would be a miracle," he said, according to France 24. "We are saddened and heartbroken to see young men and women perish after coming to the mines to save their families from despair," he added.

The miners are believed to be citizens of both Central African Republic and Cameroon. Authorities in Cameroon's Eastern region said at least three Cameroonian nationals have been confirmed among the dead, The Guardian reported. Grégoire Mvongo, the region's governor, said on state radio that he was working closely with Central African officials to respond to what he called "this tragedy," according to Euronews. Cameroonian authorities also said they were ready to treat any injured people who crossed the border, France 24 reported.

A Recurring Danger

Authorities in Central African Republic have opened an investigation into the collapse and who was operating the site, according to France 24. The exact number of people who were inside the mine when it gave way remains unknown, The Guardian reported.

Small-scale, artisanal mining is common across parts of Africa despite rules against it, as unemployment pushes people toward abandoned or informal mine sites, The Guardian reported. Weak safety standards at such sites lead to frequent accidents. At least 40 people have died in mining incidents in Central African Republic so far this year, according to The Guardian.