2024-01-24T14:56:13+00:00
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/ Agence France-Presse reported on Wednesday, quoting an official in a mining group and a local deputy, that more than 70 people were killed in the collapse of a gold mine at a mining site in western Mali.
“It started with a noise. The ground started shaking. There were more than 200 gold miners on the site,” said Oumar Sidibe, a gold miner in Kangaba.
“The search is now over and we have found 73 bodies,” a local elected official confirmed, confirming the number of victims.
The Malian Ministry of Mines said in a statement that a number of miners were killed, without giving exact figures. The government offered its “deepest condolences to the bereaved families and the Malian people.”
The statement called on “communities living near mining sites and gold miners to strictly adhere to safety requirements and work only in areas designated for gold extraction.”
Gold mining sites are regularly hit by deadly collapses where the activity is dangerous and authorities seek to control artisanal exploitation of the mineral.