More than 100 people were reportedly killed after an artisanal gold mine collapsed in the village of Zamboye in the Central African Republic, near the border with Cameroon.
The disaster happened Tuesday at a mining site in Nana-Mambéré prefecture, about 50 kilometers from the town of Baboua.
According to reports from the Associated Press and local officials, more than 100 bodies have been recovered from the site, while several others remain missing or trapped beneath the rubble.
Several survivors were also reportedly critically injured.
However, officials have provided varying casualty figures as recovery operations continue.
Anadolu Agency reported that 49 deaths had been formally confirmed, including 34 Central Africans, 13 Cameroonians and two Chadians.
Authorities said the mining site had been ordered closed as the search continued.
The collapse was reportedly triggered by a landslide that buried miners working at the largely informal and low-tech operation.
Earlier this year, another landslide at an artisanal mining site in the same region reportedly killed at least eight people and left more than a dozen others missing.
(Photo Courtesy: AFP)
