More than 100 people were killed in the Central African Republic (CAR) after a gold mine collapsed near the border with Cameroon, according to rescuers and local officials.
The disaster occurred on Tuesday at a mining site in Zamboye, in the country’s western Nana-Mambere prefecture. Several underground galleries reportedly caved in while miners were working below ground.
More than 100 bodies had been recovered from the site, the Associated Press reported, citing Gervais Ganagoroh, a local Red Cross volunteer involved in rescue efforts. AFP also put the death toll as being at least 100, citing local sources.
Separately, Cameroonian journalist Jean Charles Biyo’o Ella reported a preliminary toll of 107 after speaking with the mayor of the nearby border town of Garoua-Boulai. CAR officials had earlier reported that 30 bodies had been recovered as search operations continued.
The final official death toll has yet to be announced.
The disaster initially caused confusion over whether the mine was in CAR or Cameroon. Cameroon’s Ministry of Mines later said the collapse occurred on the CAR’s side of Zamboye. The settlement straddles the border area, with its Central African and Cameroonian sections separated by the Kadey River.
Cameroonian authorities have confirmed that at least four of their nationals were among the dead.
The latest disaster follows a series of mining accidents in CAR, which is rich in mineral resources, with gold and diamonds forming the backbone of its mining industry. In May, 23 miners were killed when a shaft collapsed at a site in the same Nana-Mambere prefecture, while another landslide at the Konyeme site in June left at least eight artisanal miners dead.
Deadly mining accidents are common across Africa, particularly at artisanal sites where miners often work in hand-dug tunnels with limited safety protections. In January, more than 200 people were killed after a landslide struck the Rubaya coltan mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The disaster, which followed heavy rains, buried miners working at the sprawling site, which is one of the world’s major sources of coltan.