More than 100 people have been killed in a devastating landslide at an artisanal gold mining site in Zamboï, western Central African Republic, near the border with Cameroon.
The disaster occurred when part of the mining site collapsed as people were working underground and around the area, triggering panic as miners and others scrambled to escape. Eyewitness accounts and video footage shared online showed scenes of confusion as the ground gave way and workers were buried beneath the collapsing earth.
Adamou Abdon, the mayor of the Cameroonian border town of Garoua-Boulaï, said rescue teams had recovered 107 bodies from the site. At least three of those killed were identified as Cameroonian nationals.
Grégoire Mvongo, the governor of Cameroon’s East Region, said arrangements were being made to repatriate the bodies of the Cameroonian victims for burial, while support measures were being coordinated for those who survived the disaster.
Survivors were taken for medical treatment, with injured victims transported to a hospital in Baboua, a town in the Central African Republic located about 50 kilometers from the landslide site.
A Livelihood Fraught with Danger
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