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Aljazeera
International News
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At least 30 people have been killed after an artisanal gold mine collapsed in western Central African Republic near the border with Cameroon, officials said.
Cameroonian media reported that the incident occurred on Tuesday in the village of Zamboye, a few kilometres from Garoua-Boulai, a town in eastern Cameroon.
Souleymane Bi, the deputy mayor of Nana-Mambere prefecture in the Central African Republic, said on Wednesday that rescuers and residents had recovered 30 bodies from the collapsed mine over several hours. Injured miners were receiving treatment.
“It is horrible and we are calling for help from organisations and all people of goodwill to help,” Bi said.
A local civil servant told AFP that about 40 people had died at the site. “At this stage it’s difficult for us to establish a formal toll,” Baboua local official Laurent Ngon Baba told the news agency.
Cedric Mbango, a miner at the site, described the incident as “catastrophic”.
“The ground completely collapsed and buried people. As I speak to you, other people are still buried. Rescue attempts are under way,” he told AFP.
Government spokesman Evariste Ngamana expressed sympathy for the victims’ families and said authorities were “working hard to provide relief and assistance” to those affected.
Artisanal mine collapses are common in the Central African Republic, where several thousand people work in small-scale mining operations outside government control.
The work is dangerous because miners often lack adequate protective equipment, and accidents can be deadly.
