More than 70 dead due illegal gold mine collapse

A worker emerging from an illegal mining shaft in Mali. Pic/X

An unregulated gold mine collapsed late last week in Mali, killing more than 70 people, an official said Wednesday, and a search continued amid fears that the toll could rise.

Karim Berthe, a senior official at the government's National Geology and Mining Directorate, confirmed the details to The Associated Press and called it an accident. There were around 100 people in the mine at the time of the collapse, according to Abdoulaye Pona, president of the Mali Chamber of Mines, who was at the scene.

The cause of the collapse, which happened in Kangaba district in the southwestern Koulikoro region on Friday, was under investigation. It was first reported on Tuesday in a Ministry of Mines statement that estimated "several" miners dead. Such tragedies are common in Mali, Africa's No. 3 gold producer. Artisanal miners - small-scale, informal ones - are often accused of ignoring safety measures, especially in remote areas.

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