Overview
- The collapse occurred at an informal gold site in Zamboye and left more than 100 people dead as rescuers continued recovering bodies two days after the accident on Tuesday.
- Authorities say the disaster followed the failure of multiple underground tunnels and a landslide that buried miners working in low-tech pits.
- Local Red Cross volunteers and miners report rescue efforts are continuing but are hampered by a severe lack of heavy equipment, technical expertise and medical capacity.
- A Baboua prosecutor has opened a judicial investigation to determine the cause, identify victims and assess whether operators or others bear criminal liability.
- The catastrophe highlights a pattern of deadly, unregulated artisanal mining in the region, involves victims from neighboring Cameroon and follows UN reporting of illicit and hazardous mining practices around Zamboye.