BAMAKO, Feb 17 (Alliance News): At least 48 people were killed when an illegally operated gold mine collapsed in western Mali on Saturday, local authorities and sources confirmed.
Mali, one of Africa’s top gold producers, has long struggled with unregulated mining, which often leads to deadly accidents such as landslides.
“The toll at 1800 today is 48 dead following the collapse,” a police source said. Some victims fell into water, including a woman with her baby on her back.
The mine, located at an abandoned site previously run by a Chinese company, collapsed while miners were working, local officials reported. Rescue efforts were still underway.
This accident follows a deadly landslide in southern Mali in January, which claimed at least 10 lives. More than 70 people died in a tunnel collapse at a similar site in the region last year.
