MORE than 40 people, mostly women, were killed after an illegal gold mine collapsed in Mali on Saturday.
The collapse took place near Kéniéba, in Mali’s western, gold-rich Kayes region.
The victims had climbed into open-pit areas left by industrial miners to look for scraps of gold when the earth around them caved in, a gold miner’s union leader told Reuters.
This is Mali’s second deadly mining accident in three weeks, after at least 10 people were killed when a mining tunnel flooded late in January.
There are conflicting reports on the number people who died in Saturday’s accident.
A local police source told the AFP news agency that 48 people were killed in the collapse, while the head of an industry union told Reuters there were 43 victims.
“Some of the victims fell into the water. Among them was a woman with her baby on her back,” the local police source told AFP.
Rescue workers have been able to retrieve the bodies, local sources told the BBC.
Mali is one of the biggest gold producers in the world.
Accidents are common in the country as much mining activity is unregulated, with miners using unsafe methods to dig for gold.
Just over a year ago, at least 40 people were killed after a tunnel collapsed in a mine.
It is also common for illegal miners – mostly women – to try to recover gold from abandoned sites due to poverty.
A spokesperson from the country’s mines ministry confirmed to Reuters that the accident had taken place between the towns of Kéniéba and Dabia, but declined to give further details.
