At least 15 dead after Guinean gold mine landslide
At least 15 persons died Saturday after a landslide at a clandestine artisanal gold mine in Guinea’s northeast Siguiri region, rescuers and witnesses said.
A rock overhang collapsed near to the village of Tatakourou according to first telephoned reports from the region which did not clearly establish if the victims had been crushed by falling rock above the mine or buried inside facility.
A Red Cross official on site said on condition of anonymity at least 15 people had been killed but didn't eliminate that others have been buried at the mine entrance.
Sinaman Traore, a gold panner at the mine, said he previously seen volunteers rescue two colleagues.
“This situation in the Siguiri mines concerns all of us - by the end of your day these landslides are more deadly compared to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said police capitain Mamadou Niare after coming to the scene.
The country’s Covid-19 death toll to Saturday stood at 149 but modern times have observed a spate of accidents at artisanal mines, particularly around Siguiri near to the border with Mali, an area where a lot more than 20,000 panners are officially active.
At least 17 clandestine miners were killed in a landslide in February 2019 and another dozen nine months later.
Regardless of the country boasting rich deposits of minerals such as for example bauxite, diamonds and gold the majority of the populace faces a daily struggle to survive with the UN estimating around one two live below the poverty line.
The seek out gold riches attracts clandestine miners from Mali, Senegal and many other West African neighbours.
