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. The incident occurred Tuesday in the village of Zamboye, located a few kilometres from Garoua-Boulai, a town in eastern Cameroon.
Souleymane Bi, deputy mayor of Nana-Mambere prefecture in the Central African Republic, said on Wednesday that rescuers and residents pulled 30 bodies from the collapsed mine over several hours. Injured miners were receiving treatment following the collapse.
Local media reports cited residents as saying approximately 100 people may have died in the incident, though this figure has not been confirmed by authorities. Officials have not yet released formal casualty counts, and the full extent of the collapse remains to be determined.
Search and rescue operations are underway at the site. Rescuers are working in difficult conditions, with debris being cleared manually. Heavy machinery has not been deployed due to concerns that its use could cause additional collapse of mine shafts that remain intact.
Many people were in the mine at the time of the collapse. The gold-bearing area near the border attracts workers from multiple countries in the region, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mali. This cross-border workforce composition may complicate identification of the deceased.
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