BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) 鈥� Hopes of finding survivors of a collapsed gold mine in Central African Republic were fading Thursday, two days after the and left others buried under debris.
Rescuers continued recovering bodies from the artisanal mining site in Zamboye, near the border with Cameroon, but local workers said the response lacked the equipment and expertise needed for a disaster of such scale.
鈥淭he rescue effort is being organized, but it is not up to the task,鈥� said J茅r茅mie Ngbiri, a miner at the site who lost his brother and a friend in the collapse.
Ngbiri said he saw some victims suffocate as people tried to rescue them.
The local Red Cross was helping with the search but could not say how many people remained buried, volunteer Gervais Ganagoro said.
鈥淲e continue to find bodies,鈥� he said, adding that more than 10 were recovered Thursday morning alone. 鈥淓very hour, bodies are being discovered, increasing the number of victims.鈥�
Local officials and the Red Cross said Wednesday that more than 100 people had died in the collapse and warned the toll was likely to rise.
The Baboua subprefecture court said in a statement that several underground tunnels in which the miners were working had collapsed, causing a landslide.
An investigation has been opened to determine why the tunnels collapsed, identify the victims and those responsible for operating the site, as well as establish any potential criminal liability, the statement said.
Mines Minister Rufin Benam Beltoungou expressed condolences to victims鈥� families and warned miners about the dangers of unsafe mining practices, according to a statement posted by the ministry.
Artisanal mine collapses are common in Central African Republic, where thousands of people work in small-scale mining, often with little protection. Pits are frequently dug by hand and can reach several meters deep.
Without adequate reinforcement, shifting ground can cause tunnels to collapse suddenly, burying miners within seconds.
Abdon Adamou, the mayor of Garoua-Boulai, a Cameroonian town near the mining site, said heavy rainfall had weakened the soils in the area.
Among the dead were four Cameroonians and two Chadians, Adamou told The Associated Press. He said he is working with Central African authorities to repatriate injured Cameroonians and the bodies of those killed in the collapse.
Hamadou Abba, 50, said his 32-year-old nephew, Doudou Marcel, was among the Cameroonian miners killed in the collapse.
Marcel, a father of two, had worked at the Zamboye mining site for about five years after leaving school and unsuccessfully trying to join the public service, he said.
鈥淎t first, I didn鈥檛 believe he was dead, and had to call other contacts to confirm,鈥� Abba said. 鈥淗is corpse and his friend鈥檚 who also died in the incident were brought back the same day,鈥� he added.
Marcel鈥檚 body was buried Wednesday at the family compound in eastern Cameroon, Abba said.
Researchers and local media reported earlier this year on unsafe and unregulated mining associated with a rapidly expanding gold rush around Zamboye.
A 2025 report by U.N. experts documented illicit mining in the area, including the involvement of armed groups and the use of extraction methods that posed health and environmental risks.
鈥斺赌�-
Akua reported from Yaound茅, Cameroon. Associated Press writers Emmanuel Tumajong and Ngala Killian Chimtom in Yaound茅 contributed.
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