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At least 30 miners have died after an artisanal gold mine collapsed in western Central African Republic, with several others feared trapped underground.
The mine, located in the Abba area of Nana-Mambere prefecture, collapsed on Tuesday morning, according to Florian Gaguende, one of the miners who survived the incident.
Gaguende said rescue teams were still searching the site for miners believed to be trapped beneath the rubble, although hopes of finding survivors were fading.
“The chance of finding them alive is getting slimmer,” he said.
Souleymane Bi, deputy mayor of the local sub-prefecture, said residents and rescuers spent several hours working through the debris, recovering 30 bodies from the collapsed mine.
He added that some miners who survived the collapse were injured and receiving medical treatment.
“It is horrible and we are calling for help from organisations and all people of good will to help pull from the hole those who are unable to do so,” Bi said.
Video footage reportedly captured at the scene showed frantic rescue efforts, with miners and other workers covered in mud scrambling around the site. In the footage, a group of people could be seen pulling a body from the pit as others gathered nearby, shouting and calling for assistance.
Government spokesman Evariste Ngamana expressed condolences to the victims’ families, saying authorities were “working hard to provide relief and assistance” to those affected by the tragedy.
Mine collapses are a recurring danger in the Central African Republic, where thousands of people depend on artisanal and small-scale mining for their livelihoods.
Many of these operations are carried out with limited safety equipment and little protection for workers, leaving miners vulnerable to deadly accidents when pits or tunnels give way.
