A gold mine collapse in the Central African Republic has killed more than 100 people. The toll is expected to climb as rescue teams keep digging through rubble at the remote Zamboye site.
The disaster struck on Tuesday afternoon at an artisanal gold mine in Zamboye village. The village sits in Nana-Mambere prefecture, near the Cameroon border, about 50 kilometres from the town of Baboua. Witnesses said the ground gave way just after 3pm local time, swallowing dozens of miners working underground.
An official at a local mining association told Reuters on Wednesday that the gold mine collapse had claimed more than 100 lives. Authorities have yet to confirm a formal figure. Baboua elected official Laurent Ngon Baba said it remained difficult to establish an exact toll at this stage.
Souleymane Bi, deputy mayor of Nana-Mambere prefecture, said rescuers and residents had pulled 30 bodies from the site of the gold mine collapse over several hours. Injured miners received treatment nearby. He described the scene as horrible and appealed for help from aid organisations and anyone willing to assist.
Cedric Mbango, a miner who was at the site when the ground failed, called the collapse catastrophic. He said the earth gave way completely and buried people where they stood. Rescue efforts were continuing as he spoke.
Bertrand Be Yangue, a member of the Zamboye youth council, said the death toll from the gold mine collapse would likely keep rising. Several people remained missing and trapped beneath the rubble. He said finding survivors at this point would be close to a miracle.
At least four Cameroonian nationals were among the dead, according to local reporting cited by AFP. That reflects how the mine draws workers from both sides of the border near Garoua-Boulai in eastern Cameroon.
Baboua’s public prosecutor said in a statement that the collapse appeared to have been caused by the failure of several underground tunnels where miners had been digging. A judicial inquiry has been opened to determine responsibility and identify the dead.
Government spokesman Evariste Ngamana expressed sympathy for the families of those killed. He said the state was working to provide relief and assistance to survivors. Cameroonian regional governor Gregoire Mvongo said his administration was collaborating closely with counterparts in the Central African Republic to manage the aftermath.
Tuesday’s gold mine collapse is the latest in a string of similar disasters in the mineral rich country, where artisanal digging often takes place outside government control. A collapse at the Be-Mbari mine in June killed dozens of people at another site near the Cameroon border. Seven miners died in March at Ngourroum. Twenty were killed in February at a site in Gordi.
Thousands of people work in small scale mining across the Central African Republic, often without safety equipment, protective structures or formal oversight. Poverty continues to push residents toward informal digging despite the well documented risks that led to this week’s gold mine collapse and several before it.
