BAMAKO: At least 48 people were killed in the collapse of an illegally operated gold mine in western Mali Saturday, authorities and local sources told AFP.
Mali is one of Africa’s leading gold producers, and mining sites are regularly the scene of deadly landslides and accidents.
Authorities have struggled to control unregulated mining of the precious metal in the country, which is among the world’s poorest.
“The toll at 18:00 today is 48 dead following the collapse,” said a police source.
“Some of the victims fell into the water. Among them was a woman with her baby on her back.”
A local official confirmed the cave-in, while the Kenieba gold miners’ association also put the death toll at 48.
The search for victims was ongoing, the head of an environmental organization told AFP.
Saturday’s accident took place at an abandoned site formerly operated by a Chinese company, sources told AFP.
In January, a landslide at a gold mine in southern Mali killed at least 10 people and left many others missing, most of them women.
Just over a year ago, a tunnel collapsed at a gold mining site in the same region as Saturday’s landslide, killing more than 70 people.
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Mali gold mine accident kills at least 48
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Mali gold mine accident kills at least 48
- Police and Kenieba gold miners’ association confirmed the death toll
- Mali is one of Africa’s leading gold producers, but mining is largely unregulated
Another 131 migrants rescued off southern Crete
ATHENS: The Greek coast guard Saturday rescued 131 would be migrants off Crete, bringing the number of people brought out of the sea in the area over the past five days to 840, a police spokesperson said.
The migrants rescued Saturday morning were aboard a fishing boat some 14 nautical miles south of Gavdos, a small island south of Crete.
The passengers, whose nationality was not revealed, were all taken to Gavdos.
Many people attempting to reach Crete from Libya drown during the risky crossing.
In early December, 17 people — mostly Sudanese or Egyptian — were found dead after their boat sank off the coast of Crete, and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 16,770 people trying to get to Europe have arrived in Crete since the beginning of the year, more than on any other Greek island.
In July, the conservative government suspended the processing of asylum applications for three months, particularly those of people arriving from Libya, saying the measure as “absolutely necessary” in the face of the increasing flow of migrants.
The migrants rescued Saturday morning were aboard a fishing boat some 14 nautical miles south of Gavdos, a small island south of Crete.
The passengers, whose nationality was not revealed, were all taken to Gavdos.
Many people attempting to reach Crete from Libya drown during the risky crossing.
In early December, 17 people — mostly Sudanese or Egyptian — were found dead after their boat sank off the coast of Crete, and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 16,770 people trying to get to Europe have arrived in Crete since the beginning of the year, more than on any other Greek island.
In July, the conservative government suspended the processing of asylum applications for three months, particularly those of people arriving from Libya, saying the measure as “absolutely necessary” in the face of the increasing flow of migrants.
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