Key facts
- An artisanal gold mine collapsed Tuesday in the western Central African Republic.
- At least 30 miners were killed in the collapse.
- Additional miners are believed to be trapped.
- The collapse occurred in the Abba region of the Nana-Mambere prefecture.
- Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors.
A gold mining site collapsed Tuesday in the western part of the Central African Republic, killing at least 30 miners and leaving others trapped, authorities and residents said. The low-tech, artisanal mine collapsed Tuesday morning in the Abba region of the Nana-Mambere prefecture, according to Florian Gaguende, one of the surviving miners. He said rescuers were searching for additional miners believed trapped, but that the chance of finding them alive is getting slimmer. The sub-prefecture’s deputy mayor, Souleymane Bi, said rescuers and residents managed over several hours to pull 30 bodies from the collapsed mine, and that injured miners were receiving treatment. Bi stated, “It is horrible and we are calling for help from organizations and all people of good will to help pull from the hole those who are unable to do so.” Artisanal mine collapses are common in the Central African Republic, where several thousand people work in small-scale extraction mining, often without adequate protection.