8 dead, several missing in Central African Republic landslide

At least eight artisanal gold miners were killed on Tuesday in a landslide at a mining site in the western Central African Republic, according to local authorities.

The accident occurred at the Konyeme mining site in the Nana-Mambere prefecture, Laurent Ngon Baba, a member of parliament for Baboua 1, where the mining site is located, told reporters.

“The accident occurred at around 2 am local time (0100 GMT) when several miners were underground. The site was still under development,” he said.

“The earth collapsed suddenly burying diggers under the rubble. Search and rescue operations were launched which made it possible to recover eight bodies, and the search continues for several people still missing.”

Baba said the victims included a local resident and seven suspected Fulani foreign nationals.

Local media reports on Wednesday said about a dozen people remained missing.

A similar tragedy in the same prefecture left 23 miners dead on May 6, when a shaft collapsed at the Be-Mbari mining site.