Thursday, August 20, 2026 - More than 100 people have been k!lled after an artisanal gold mine collapsed in western Central African Republic (CAR) near the border with Cameroon.
The collapse occurred on Tuesday, August 18, in the village
of Zamboye, about 50km (31 miles) from the Central African town of Baboua and a
few kilometres from Garoua-Boulai, in eastern Cameroon.
Video shows miners running for their lives as the cave-in
occurred and buried some of them.
Gervais Ganagoroh, a Red Cross volunteer involved in the
relief effort, told the Associated Press news agency on Wednesday,
August 19, that more than 100 bodies had been recovered from the collapse.
A senior official at a local mining association also told
Reuters that the cave-in had claimed more than 100 lives, a toll other local
sources confirmed to the AFP.
The toll is expected to rise, with several people still
missing or trapped beneath the rubble, according to city official Bertrand Be
Yangue.
“Finding them alive would be a miracle,” Yangue said. “We
are saddened and heartbroken to see young men and women perish after coming to
the mines to save their families from despair.”
Souleymane Bi, the deputy mayor of Nana-Mambere prefecture
in the Central African Republic, said: “It is horrible … And we are calling for
help from organisations and all people of goodwill to help.”
The landslide is believed to have been caused by “the
collapse of several underground tunnels in which miners were operating”, the
Baboua public prosecutor said in a statement, announcing a judicial inquiry had
been opened.
“At this stage, it’s difficult for us to establish a formal
toll,” Baboua local official Laurent Ngon Baba told AFP earlier on Wednesday.
Cedric Mbango, a miner at the site, described the incident
as “catastrophic”.
“The ground completely collapsed and buried people. As I
speak to you, other people are still buried. Rescue attempts are under way,” he
told AFP.
Gregoire Mvongo, governor of the eastern Cameroonian region,
said on public CRTV radio that they were “working in close collaboration with
our Central African colleagues to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy”.
See video of the incident below.
At least100 killed in devastating landslide at mining site in Central African Republic(VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/gRliZta98U
— DAILY POST 🇳🇬 (@dailypost_ng) August 20, 2026
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