The landslide is reported to have taken place at the Tatakourou artisanal gold mine, located 800km from the capital, Conakry
The landslide took place at the Tatakourou artisanal mine. (Credit: Erik Stein from Pixabay)
The Guinea government has announced that a landslide at an artisanal gold mine in northeastern part of the country has led to the death of at least 15 people.
The landslide occurred in remote Siguiri province, which is said to hold some of the West African country’s largest gold reserves.
The government said that it has launched a probe into the disaster, which took place on 8 May.
Two women were among those killed in the accident, a local resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
Artisanal mines around Siguiri are said to pose dangerous risks as diggers work in narrow shafts without proper safeguards.
A police captain Mamadou Niare was quoted by AFP as saying: “This situation in the Siguiri mines concerns all of us — at the end of the day these landslides are more deadly than the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The landslide took place at the Tatakourou artisanal mine, which is located 800km from the capital, Conakry.
The West African country has witnessed several accidents at artisanal mines, mainly around Siguiri near the border with Mali. Over 20,000 gold miners are said to be officially active in the region.
In September last year, an artisanal gold mine collapsed in the Sud-Kivu Province (South Kivu Province) in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), causing the death of more than 50 people, as per a local mining NGO.
The disaster happened near Kamituga in the eastern part of the Central African country, at the “Detroit” mine site.