BANGUI, Central African Republic — Two local sources directly involved in response operations confirmed Wednesday that the confirmed death toll from a catastrophic gold mine collapse in western Central African Republic has climbed past 100, with fatalities expected to rise further as search and recovery efforts continue.
The disaster struck at an unregulated, low-capacity artisanal gold mine on Tuesday morning in the rural village of Zamboye, located in Nana-Mambere prefecture just a short distance from Central African Republic’s border with Cameroon.
Gervais Ganagoroh, a local Red Cross volunteer participating in on-the-ground relief work, reported that alongside the rising number of fatalities, multiple miners who escaped the initial collapse are currently in critical condition with severe injuries. Local youth council member Bertrand Be Yangué, who is also assisting in recovery operations, added that the final death count will likely grow, as dozens of people remain unaccounted for and dozens more are still trapped beneath tons of collapsed rock and rubble.
Yangué told reporters that the chances of pulling any remaining trapped miners out alive are extremely slim. “Finding them alive would be a miracle,” he said. “We are saddened and heartbroken to see young men and women perish after coming to the mines to save their families from despair.”
In the wake of the incident, judicial authorities have launched a formal investigation. The prosecutor for the Baboua sub-prefecture court released an official statement confirming the probe, which will focus on identifying the root cause of the collapse, confirming the identities of all victims, holding accountable any parties responsible for operating the unregulated mining site, and pursuing potential criminal charges where negligence or illegal activity is found.
Local footage captured at the disaster site in the hours after the collapse paints a grim picture: mud-caked miners, most of them young adults, worked frantically to pull bodies from the deep open pit. Dozens of other people connected to the mine gathered across the large site, with many crying out for additional help to reach trapped loved ones.
Collapses at unregulated small-scale mines are a recurring tragedy across Central African Republic. It is estimated that thousands of local residents rely on artisanal gold extraction for their livelihoods, driven by widespread poverty and a lack of alternative work opportunities. These small operations almost never provide workers with basic safety equipment or structural protections, a reality that has turned the trade into one of the country’s deadliest informal sectors.