At least ten people, mostly women, have died in a landslip at a gold mine in southern Mali, with many more feared missing, authorities reported on Thursday.
The tragedy occurred on Wednesday in the village of Danga, located in the Koulikoro region. According to a statement from the regional governorate, a group of miners became trapped in a pit filled with muddy water, making escape impossible. “They were trapped in a hole, submerged in muddy water that wreaked devastation,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, none of them were able to escape.”
Mali, one of Africa’s leading gold producers, struggles to regulate artisanal mining, which is often plagued by hazardous conditions. Fatal landslides are common in these unregulated sites.
The regional mining department director, Ousmane Diakite, told newsmen that at least ten deaths had been confirmed, with others still missing. However, social media reports suggest the actual death toll may be significantly higher. A local mayor, who requested anonymity, stated, “What’s certain is that there are no survivors.”
Images shared by the governorate and on social media depict the aftermath of the disaster—an open-air mine with overturned ground, deep pits filled with murky water, and rescuers standing on the brink of the collapsed site. Search efforts are ongoing, but hazardous conditions have hampered recovery operations. “No bodies could be recovered,” the governorate reported, adding that a mechanical excavator had also been submerged in the water.
This disaster follows another tragic incident in January 2024, when a tunnel collapse at a nearby gold mine claimed approximately 70 lives.
