More Than 100 Dead After Gold Mine Collapse in Central African Republic

ZAMBOYE, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC — More than 100 people have been killed after an artisanal gold mine collapsed in the western Central African Republic near the border with Cameroon, according to local officials and a Red Cross volunteer involved in the recovery effort.

The cave-in occurred on Tuesday in the village of Zamboye, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Central African town of Baboua and a few kilometers from Garoua-Boulai in eastern Cameroon.

Gervais Ganagoroh, a Red Cross volunteer assisting with relief operations, said more than 100 bodies had been recovered from the collapsed site. A senior official at a local mining association and other local sources confirmed the toll, which authorities warn is expected to rise as several people remain missing or trapped beneath the rubble.

Rescuers and residents dig through collapsed earth in search of trapped miners. Photo: TND World Desk (illustrative)

"Finding Them Alive Would Be a Miracle"

City official Bertrand Be Yangue said hopes of finding survivors were fading.

"Finding them alive would be a miracle. We are saddened and heartbroken to see young men and women perish after coming to the mines to save their families from despair," Yangue said.

Souleymane Bi, the deputy mayor of Nana-Mambéré prefecture, described the disaster as "horrible" and appealed for assistance: "We are calling for help from organisations and all people of goodwill to help."

Cedric Mbango, a miner at the site, called the incident catastrophic. "The ground completely collapsed and buried people. As I speak to you, other people are still buried. Rescue attempts are under way," he said.

Judicial Inquiry Opened

The landslide is believed to have been caused by the collapse of several underground tunnels in which miners were operating, according to a statement from the Baboua public prosecutor, who announced that a judicial inquiry has been opened into the disaster.

"At this stage, it's difficult for us to establish a formal toll," Baboua local official Laurent Ngon Baba said.

Government spokesman Evariste Ngamana expressed sympathy for the families of the victims and said authorities are "working hard to provide relief and assistance" to those affected.

Across the border, Gregoire Mvongo, governor of Cameroon's East Region, said officials were "working in close collaboration with our Central African colleagues to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy."

Residents mourn as Red Cross volunteers assist families near the disaster site. Photo: TND World Desk (illustrative)

A Deadly Pattern in Artisanal Mining

Artisanal mine collapses are tragically common in the Central African Republic, where several thousand people work in small-scale extraction mining largely outside government control. Miners typically operate without adequate protection, and accidents are often deadly.

The Zamboye disaster follows a grim series of similar tragedies this year alone:

• In June, a collapse killed dozens of people at the Be-Mbari gold mining site, also on the Cameroon border.
• In mid-March, a landslide killed seven people at a mine in the village of Ngourroum, in the west of the country.
• In February, 20 people were killed in Gordi, in the northeast.

For many in one of the world's poorest countries, artisanal gold mining remains one of the few available paths out of poverty — a livelihood that continues to exact a devastating human cost.

The New Dispensation will continue to follow the recovery effort, the judicial inquiry and the response from Central African and Cameroonian authorities.

Source: Reporting based on accounts from AFP, AP and Reuters, and statements from Central African Republic officials and the Red Cross.