Dozens of people died on 6 May in a landslide at the Bé-Mbari gold mine in the west of the Central African Republic (CAR), near the border with Cameroon, local sources told French news agency AFP.
The tragedy has not yet been addressed by any official communication.
Landslides are frequent in mines across this part of the CAR, whose soil is rich in sought-after minerals, often extracted illegally and outside governmental oversight.
Local residents in Sagani village and a municipal official from nearby Abba confirmed that the fatal landslide struck the mining site in the Nana-Mambéré department.
Many bodies remain buried, and the search for missing individuals is ongoing. Up to Wednesday, mining activities had not resumed.
Bé-Mbari mine lies in a remote, hard-to-access area where several armed groups opposed to the state operate.
Radio Ndeke Luka, a media outlet in the CAR, reported that the site is largely outside state control, and violations of artisanal mining regulations have recently contributed to fatal incidents.
Similar accidents have occurred in other parts of the country. In mid-March, a landslide killed seven people at a mine in the village of Ngourroum. In February, another in Gordi, in the northeast, claimed 20 lives.
Aïcha Pemboura, a researcher at the Observatory on Organised Crime and Violence in Central Africa, noted in March that while artisanal mining in the CAR is regulated, many miners and traders work without permits, operate in unauthorised zones, or bypass official commercial channels.
