48 Dead in Collapse Accident at Abandoned Mine Operated by Chinese Company in Mali Trying to Extract Gold

Additional Rescue Operations Underway at the Site
Previously Operated by a Chinese Company... Now Closed

At least 48 people have died due to the collapse of an abandoned mine in Mali, one of the poorest countries in Africa.

AFP and Xinhua News reported on the 15th (local time) that a disaster occurred in the village of Bilalkoto in the Kenieba region of southwestern Mali, where an abandoned mine collapsed, resulting in at least 48 deaths.

Dangaa region in southwestern Mali where a gold mine collapse occurred last month. Photo by AFP/ Yonhap News

According to police officials, some of the deceased drowned, including a woman carrying a baby. Most of the victims are reported to be women. About 10 seriously injured people were transported to the hospital, and additional rescue operations are ongoing at the site.

The collapsed gold mine was previously operated by a Chinese company but is now closed. Mali is a major gold deposit area in Africa, where frequent landslides cause casualties, and unauthorized mining in abandoned mines is common.

In January last year, more than 70 people died in a gold mine collapse in the village of Kangaba in the southwest, and last month, another gold mine collapsed in the same area, killing 13 people, including women and children.