Major accident in Mali: 70 killed in gold mine collapse - report

A big accident has happened in Mali. According to a report by news agency FP, more than 70 people have died due to the collapse of the gold mine. This incident happened on Wednesday. Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. This country is one of the major gold producers in Africa.

Cases of landslides are seen every day in the gold mines here. People have to work hard to get this expensive metal.

Omar Sidibé, an official in the south-western city of Kangaba, said on Friday that the incident began with a noise. The earth started shaking at the time of the incident. He said that there are more than 200 gold mines in the areas surrounding the incident site. The search for workers is still going on. So far 73 bodies have been taken out from the mine.

Mali's mines ministry announced the deaths of several miners in a statement on Tuesday but did not give exact figures. The government "expressed its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and the Malian people." After this incident, the government has urged people to go into the mine only on the basis of established standards.

According to the information, Mali's mining sector is dominated by foreign groups. There are foreign companies, including Canada's Barrick Gold and B2Gold, Australia's Resolute Mining and Britain's Hummingbird Resources, which have been operating despite the political instability that has prevailed in the country for years.

Such accidents are common in Mali, Africa's third largest gold producing country. Official Karim Barthe said, “To avoid such accidents in the future, the state should bring order in this artisanal mining sector.” The Mines Ministry has expressed “deep sorrow” over the accident and urged miners as well as communities living near mining sites to “follow safety requirements.”

Gold mining is a dangerous business in the Sahel region of Mali. Human rights organizations regularly condemn the use of child labor in artisanal mining operations.

According to a report published in 2019 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), living and working conditions have become dangerous due to the continuous influx of new gold panning workers and the lack of infrastructure to support them. "Far from urban centres, in areas where the state presence is negligible, migrants generally benefit from no measures of workplace protection," the report said.