At least 18 people have been confirmed killed when an informal gold mine collapsed this week in western Guinea, the government spokesman said on Thursday.
The accident happened on Monday near Gaoual, approximately 386 kilometres (240 miles) from Conakry, where gold miners have flocked in recent months.
“For the moment, 18 bodies have been extracted and we are not finished yet. Rescue operations continue,” government spokesman Ousmane Gaoual Diallo told newsmen.
Accidents are prevalent in West Africa’s so-called artisanal mining, which operate with little monitoring or regulation.
In May 2021, at least 15 people were killed in a similar incident at an artisanal gold mine in Northeastern Guinea.