A landslide at an illegal gold mine in the Central African Republic near the Cameroonian border has killed at least 100 people.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at the Zamboye mining site, about 50 kilometres from Baboua. Footage circulating on social media showed a section of the open-pit mine collapsing and burying miners below. Search and rescue operations continued into Wednesday.
Local reports indicate the collapse was triggered by the failure of several underground tunnels. Among the dead were at least four Cameroonian nationals. Survivors were taken to hospital in Baboua while recovery efforts carried on.
Landslides are frequent in the country’s unregulated artisanal mines. Both Cameroonian and Central African opposition figures blamed weak oversight and said successive governments have failed to enforce safety rules in mining areas.
The tragedy follows similar incidents in the same border region, including a collapse in June that claimed dozens of lives and others earlier in the year that killed seven and 20 people respectively.
